


Alone Together

by Gingerwerk



Series: Alone Together verse [1]
Category: Band of Brothers, Generation Kill, The Pacific - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gen, Gun Violence, M/M, Minor Character Death, Team Curraheev2, Warathonv2, basically just everyone is in here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2017-12-22 01:15:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 275,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/907173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gingerwerk/pseuds/Gingerwerk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The boys came from all over the country, from different backgrounds, different types of families, and they all came to Pacific Coast University for different reasons. Some wanted to escape their old lives, some wanted to prove themselves, and some just wanted a new adventure. They all came not knowing what the future would bring, unaware that within a year their lives would be changed forever, for the better and for the worse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So everyone loves a college AU, right? I started this for the HBO warathon for Tumblr but I only have the first couple of chapters done. Updates will be done... sometime, I'll try to get a schedule set up but who knows. 
> 
> This story was written for fun and is based off the actors who portrayed the real guys; I don't mean to disrespect those brave men, sorry if you get offended with what I write.
> 
> The title comes from the song Alone Together: Fall Out Boy and it's a playoff of the meaning of Currahee: Together Alone
> 
> ***

* * *

“You just need a ride to the airport, right, Robert?”

 

Bob Leckie looked up from where he sat on the ground as he taped yet another box of belongings shut. His father stood in the open doorway of his bedroom, ignoring the complete chaos that was his youngest child’s room. He looked like he always did, old with greying hair and wrinkles and way more exhausted than he should. Leckie gave his head a little shake; he had already blanked and completely forgot what his father had just asked.

 

“What was that, pop?” he asked as he fumbled with the roll of tape in his hands.

 

“Your mother wanted to know if you just needed a ride to the airport,” he repeated with a sigh as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “You _did_ book your ticket already, right?”

 

Leckie let out the tiniest of sighs and let his head drop slightly while he focused his eyes on the tape in his hand. A bubble of disappointment formed in his chest but he did his best to push it away. He should be used to this treatment, really; after almost a decade of this and all of a sudden he should dare to expect something different, some kind of coddling?

 

“Yeah, I just need a ride, dad,” Leckie finally answered quietly as he looked up at his dad and refrained from giving him some smart-ass response that would just go over his head completely. “And mom bought me my ticket over a month ago. I’ve got it all under control-”

 

“Good, that’s good,” Mr. Leckie said, cutting his son off as he turned to leave the room and disappear down the hall.

 

Leckie stared at the now empty doorway for a moment with his mouth still hanging open, not sure how he should feel about his dad’s complete lack of compassion or social skills. Sometimes Leckie wondered how in the hell his dad ever managed to get his mom to agree to marry him, let alone have eight children, but then again, his dad wasn’t always so touched in the head. Leckie remembered a time when his dad actually smiled, even hugged him on occasion, dared to get to actually know his own damn kids.

 

“Stop it,” Leckie told himself as he tossed the roll of tape across the room and watched as it bounced against the wall before it landed harmlessly on top of his bed.

 

“Robert, what are you doing in here?” his mother asked softly as she poked her head inside of his room, looking concerned.

 

“Oh, you know, packing up for my foray into post-secondary education,” Leckie said with an easy lopsided grin as he stood up and stretched; he had been sitting down for way too long.

 

“Alright, you have everything you need right?” his mother asked as she took a step and stood in the same spot her husband had moments before.

 

“Seems that way,” he mumbled as he ran a hand through his unruly brown curls.

 

“Well… good,” Mrs. Leckie said with a small smile and a nod. She turned to leave but stopped mid-step and turned around to face her youngest once again. “Oh and your brother and sisters are coming to dinner tonight.”

 

“What?” Leckie exclaimed in annoyance. “When was this decided?”

 

It wasn’t like he had some great hatred for his siblings, his oldest siblings had already left the house half way through his childhood and the other ones were no more annoying and pesky than anyone else’s siblings. It was just that when you forced seven fully grown children, two spouses, a boyfriend or girlfriend, and a new bouncy baby brat or two to the mix, dinner went from a peaceful family gathering to something way more taxing on the soul.

 

“Honey we told you about this a week ago,” his mother said with a small frown on her face.

 

“No! No one told me!”

 

“Well it’s not a big deal honey,” she said with a slight wave of her hands. “They just want to see you before you leave for college. It’ll be nice.”

 

Leckie crossed his arms and did his best to refrain from pouting at the ground like a child.

 

“Is it just them or is it _everyone?_ ”

 

“If by everyone you mean your siblings along with Josh, Maddie, and George and Eric and Hope, then _yes_ , it’s going to be _everyone._ ”

 

Leckie refrained from rolling his eyes and settled for a petulant expression that didn’t even faze his mother.

 

“They’ll be over at seven. Make sure you wash up before that.”

 

* * *

 

“I swear to all that is horrible and unholy, whoever the hell got jelly _all_ over my iPod is gonna get one swift kick in the shorts!” George Luz screamed as loud as he could as he held his now sticky iPod in his hand.

 

He watched through narrowed eyes as two tiny but cackling figures ran past his open door and down the stairs. George burst from his room and ran after the two little devils, knowing that it was their jelly-covered fingers that not only smudged his new iPod, but locked him out of the device for sixty minutes.

 

_“Donnie! Joe!”_ George hollered as he did his best to chase his youngest siblings down the stairs without falling or dropping his iPod. “You two better not plan on sitting anymore today because when I get done with you you’re going to be standing for the rest of-!”

 

“ _George!”_

 

George stopped dead in his tracks in the middle of the stairs. The momentum almost had him crashing to the ground and down the rest of the stairs but luckily somehow he managed to keep himself upright and in once piece. Grimacing slightly, he turned around and found his mother walking down the steps behind him with a full basket of laundry balance on her hip, looking stern as usual.

 

“ _What_ are you making such a fuss over?” she asked as she stopped in front of George; even a step above him, she was still shorter than him and George wasn’t a tall guy in the first place. However, her lack of height didn’t in any way diminish the fury she could produce when anyone of her ten children were being too rowdy.

 

“Donnie and Joe got jelly _all over_ my iPod and locked me out of it for a whole freaking hour!” George exclaimed while he hoped he didn’t sound nearly as whiny as he felt he did. He was a fucking adult for Christ sakes. He wasn’t going to sound like a five year old having a tantrum.

 

_But those little shits keep touching my stuff!_ George thought to himself.

 

“Jelly comes off, Georgie,” his mother said exasperatedly. “And I think an hour away from that thing of yours will do you some good.”

 

“But mom-!”

 

“Have you finished packing?”

 

“Yes but are you gonna seriously let them off just because they’re like four-?”

 

“ _No_ I will take care of it and you will finish packing because I know for a fact you haven’t packed _any_ underwear, seeing as I just washed all of it,” his mother said as she gave the laundry basket a shake for emphasis.

 

“Well, maybe I was planning on going all commando at college,” George said, cracking a wide smile that made his brown eyes crinkle and shine. “I hear that’s what’s all the rage nowadays.”

 

He watched as a tiny hint of smile appeared on his mother’s face; he could see it in the twitch in the corner of her lips and the little twinkle in the corner of her eyes and he knew right there that he has defused yet another bomb. His mother took a pair of socks from the laundry basket and whacked him with it, which he figured he deserved.

 

“Go. Finish packing. If I find out that you forgot all your underwear here I will fly to your college and personally deliver your tighty-whities in front of all of your little college buddies, got it?” his mother threatened.

 

“I do not wear tighty-whities,” he mumbled with a pout, which earned another swat. “I’m a _man_.”

 

“Go.”

 

“Fine, fine, mom.”

 

He watched her walked down the remaining steps before he turned and climbed back up the stairs while he tried his best to ignore the reddish goo that coated his beloved iPod.

 

“Hey, George! George! What was that all about, huh?!” yelled a tiny but powerful voice as George passed one of the open bedroom doors.

 

He stopped, turned, and saw a miniature girl with big brown eyes and curly brown hair pulled into pig tails. Behind her he saw another girl who was slightly taller and a little older but looked rather similar.

 

“Donnie and Joe are just being a pain in my butt, Annie,” George informed his little sister. “Same as usual.”

 

“Oh my gosh I know! Yesterday they took my doll and tried to drown her in the _toilet!_ ”

 

“Well… I’m glad they didn’t try to do that with my iPod or else there would be a serious problem here,” George said slowly as he through of how he would hide the bodies of two young boys if such an event were to have occurred.

 

“What’d they do with your iPod, Georgie?” Rita asked as she pushed her younger sister out of the way.

 

“Oh, nothing,” George said, now feeling a little foolish for how he reacted earlier. “Nothing too bad. Just go back and watch your TV. I gotta go finish packing.”

 

“Packin’ for what?” Annie asked as she gripped onto George’s empty hand and followed him towards his room.

 

“He’s going to collage, Annie,” Rita sneered as she jogged to catch up with them.

 

“Actually it’s _college_ , Ri,” George corrected her gently with a smile. “And I’m leaving to go to big kid school, remember Annie?”

 

“You’re leaving us,” Annie said with a pout so powerful it made George regret his choice of college for a moment.

 

“Not for good, kiddo,” he said. “You won’t even notice I’m gone after a day or two, this house is so noisy.”

 

“Will too,” the tiny girl continued to pout.

 

“Yeah, I mean, who’s gonna drive us to get ice cream and shit?” James, the second oldest boy said as he passed by, eyes buried in his phone as he rapid-fire texted someone.

 

“You’ll miss me, ya dumbass,” George said as he swatted his little brother’s head as he passed by, causing the younger teen to scowl.

 

“We’ll miss you like the plague, Georgie,” Stella, the oldest daughter at sixteen, said as she walked out of her bedroom, decked out in shorts that were too short and a top that was too tight for George’s liking.

 

“And where the hell are you running off to dressed like that?” he snapped as he took in his younger sister’s painted face and nails.

 

“None of your business, dork,” she snapped before she stuck out her tongue at him, walked down the hall, and began texting away on her brand new cell phone.

 

Just as Stella followed James down the stairs, two more figures sprinted up them at top speed, giggling like fiends. The two siblings ran into a room and closed the door tight behind them, laughing loudly from behind the door.

 

“Louise! Ricky!” Charlotte screamed as she buzzed past her other siblings and began pounding on the firmly shut door. “Which one of you ate the last banana Popsicle?!  I was saving that for later!”

 

Shaking his head wearily, George disentangled himself from his sister and disappeared into his room where the shouts from the hall were slightly muffled. He collapsed onto his bed, knocking over a pile of freshly washed and folded laundry to the ground, and closed his eyes.

 

He would be leaving for college soon, a college that just happened to be on the opposite side of the country. It would be the first time any Luz went to college and would also be the first time George had ever left his family for more than a few nights. Sure, he would miss all nine of his crazy, bratty, obnoxious, and sweet younger siblings, but as the screaming escalated outside his bedroom while it mixed with the noises of a television left on from three floors below, he felt that maybe a change would be good. He was a little sick of being just another face in the giant cluster that was casa de Luz.

 

“ _I don’t want an orange Popsicle, mom!”_ Charlotte screamed from the hall while a car blasting obnoxiously loud rap music blared through the open window, probably here for Stella.

 

There was a crash of pots and pans from downstairs and the frantic footsteps of a child who was desperate not to get caught while someone else, probably James, turned the volume of the television set up to an unholy volume.

 

Yeah, George could do with a change.

 

* * *

 

The family dinner at the Leckie household was, as expected, loud. It wasn’t like they were all screaming and fighting and throwing chairs or anything but anytime fourteen people try to fit themselves into one room of a house, things were bound to be loud. Hell, Leckie would probably enjoy it if his family were like one of those families from one of the many reality television shows everyone was obsessed with; at least those families made arguing entertaining. No, when the Leckie household got into an argument, it was something more similar to a presidential debate than a Jerry Springer episode. Everyone always let the other be heard but no one ever got louder than necessary, only ever raising their voice so that they could be heard over his sister’s crying children. The Leckie household was filled with people who were so damn keen on not stepping on anyone’s toes.

 

It pissed Bob off.

 

Everyone in the house toed completely around everyone’s feelings, it felt like he had to walk around on egg shells whenever the entire family came over. Whenever there was some big family milestone, like Elizabeth having kids or Sara getting married or Lucy graduating from college, it always felt like there was an elephant in the room.

 

Leckie of course, knew the elephants name, so did everyone else, but he was the only one to ever put a name to it out loud. Whenever he dared say the name that was screaming in everyone else’s heads, his father shut down completely and left the room, his mother would try her best not to cry, and his siblings would go into a complete uproar of ‘how dare you mention him’ and ‘why did you have to say that’ and ‘what good are you doing, bringing him up at a time like this’. But, Leckie felt, someone had to. The rest of the family might be alright with trying to forget him, but Bob sure as hell wasn’t.

 

Damn, he needed a smoke.

 

Excusing himself from the overly formal and oppressive meal, Leckie jogged up into room, reached into the back of his dresser drawer, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, ran back downstairs and out the back door. He had a cigarette in-between his lips with a lighter halfway to his mouth before his feet had even left the back porch.

 

Once lit, he shoved the half-empty pack and his lighter into his jeans and jogged to the edge of the property before he collapsed behind the giant maple tree that easily hid him from view of his family.

 

“You know you could be a little less obvious with how much you hate your own family, Bobby,” a voice said from just behind him. It shocked Bob, causing him to choke on his newest inhalation of tobacco smoke.

 

He turned around to see his older sister, Karen standing behind him. She didn’t look upset or annoyed or even make a face at the cigarette he had been smoking. She just spoke as if talking about the weather; again with the not wanting to cause a fight and avoiding any toe-stepping possible.

 

“Are you a fucking ninja or something? Because you sneak up like one,” Leckie hissed before he took another puff of his cigarette.

 

Karen smirked slightly before she sat down next to him. Neither sibling said anything for a moment, with Bob smoking and fuming slightly while Karen looked as calm and stoic as any other member of their family. Finally, Bob broke the silence.

 

“I don’t hate my family, Karen. I really don’t.”

 

“Well then what would you say you do?” she asked politely. “Dislike? You have contempt for us? What?”

 

“I…”

 

What did Leckie really feel about his family? Well, he knew for sure he didn’t hate them, that was too strong and cruel of an emotion to put to these people. Disliked seemed too strong too but what exactly was it? More often than not, he just felt exasperated, if not frustrated with his family’s lack of communication and emotional bonding. However, he had the feeling his words would be lost on his sister, who had been slowly turning more and more into their father over the years. So instead of trying to set her straight and convince her he didn’t hate their family, he smoked his cigarette in peace, content with the knowledge that within the week, he’d be on the opposite side of the country from them all.

 

“Never mind, Bob,” Karen said with a slight sigh as she got up and brushed the dirt from her jeans. “Molly and Sara are only going to be here for another hour and I wanted to talk to them. If you feel like continuing this conversation later, I’ll be in my room.”

 

As he heard the back door closing behind his older sister, Bob finished off his cigarette but instead of going back inside, he stayed outside, sitting against the tree as he watched the sun descend across the horizon until his mother called him inside to say goodbye to his siblings.

 

Jesus, he just needed to escape.

 

* * *

 

Carwood Lipton stared out towards the rising sun as he leaned against the railings of his back porch house. He was always an early riser but ever since he started to take a larger role in taking care of his family’s boarding house, he tended to wake up just as most people his age were going to bed. He even woke up before his mother, who had been running the boarding house all by herself for the past eight years and hadn’t slept in past the crack of dawn in decades.

 

Lipton let out a deep breath and tried to ignore the slight shiver that came to him in the early morning hours when all he was dressed in was a t-shirt and some shorts. He really should get to work. He tried to get as much work done as possible before his mother got out of bed, just for the sake of making things easier for her. Not that he didn’t think she could do it; there were very few things Carwood thought his mother couldn’t do. Eight years ago when she had been put into a wheel chair because of a car accident that also killed Lipton’s father she had proved just how much she could do. No, he just wanted to take as much stress off of her before he left.

 

Carwood reached into the pocket of his gym shorts and pulled out a heavily creased and wrinkled pamphlet. On it bore of a picture of a large stone building with an ocean front background. The words ‘Pacific Coast University’ were written across the top in large navy lettering. Lipton brushed his fingers over the words before he shoved the packet of papers back into his pants.

 

In less than a week he would be on a plane headed towards the college that was thousands of miles away from his home in West Virginia. He had never really left his home before, no one in his family had. In fact if it were really up to him, he would have just stuck to his initial plan of taking courses at the local community college while he continued to help his family run the boarding house.

 

_“Honey, you need the real college experience,”_ his mother had told him every time he mentioned going to community college. “ _You need a chance to stretch you wings, leave the nest, find your own adventure. And you’re not going to find any adventure doing basically the same thing you’ve done your last eighteen years.”_

 

No matter how hard Carwood had tried to convince his mother that college was not only expensive, but he didn’t feel the need for adventure was all that important. However after months of bickering and back and forth, Carwood promised his mother that yes he would not only attend an _actual college_ , he would attend one that was more than a five minute drive from the house. Carwood had been all set to attend Marshal University, while not far away like Mrs. Lipton had hoped for it was still something more than a community college, until his mother decided to get involved herself. It was because of Mrs. Lipton’s meddling that Lipton managed to become accepted to five colleges he had neither applied to nor heard of.

 

If there had been a time when he had been more exasperated and pissed at his mom, Carwood didn’t remember. He had shouted at his mom for half an hour about how not only it was an invasion of his privacy, it was probably illegal to lie to the universities she had applied to in his name. But Mrs. Lipton hadn’t been intimidated by her eldest child and his sudden temper. Instead she calmly but firmly told him that she only made copies of the application he had used for Marshal University, which since he had them laying on the table it was not an invasion of privacy and neither was it her pretending to be her son.

 

_“I just want you to get out of this town, get out of the state,_ ” she had said after almost an hour of arguing. _“Stretch your wings, honey. I don’t want you to grow up without taking chances when you still could.”_ Lipton remembered how she had gripped his hands and looked up into his weary brown eyes. _“If you go out into that big scary world and find that you don’t like it and can’t handle it, I promise you that you can come home. It’s okay to stay here when you’ve grown up. But I don’t want you to stay here without really going out and experiencing the world out there. Just try it. You might like what you find out there.”_

 

And it was because of his mother’s words and her meddling that Carwood found himself accepting a place among the hallowed halls of Pacific Coast University. He didn’t really know what made him choose that particular school, sure the half scholarship he had received helped his choice, but really he couldn’t put his finger on the choice. Maybe it was just that when Carwood pictured adventure, something about the ocean seemed much more adventurous than the regular college. Whatever it was, his mother was thrilled that he had finally gone around to her way of thinking.

 

_“And don’t you worry about me, honey,”_ his mother had said time and time again whenever he began to fret about his mother would get on without him to help her. _“Now maybe we can finally get you bum of a brother to work and Emma’s never afraid to help out. Everything will be just fine. We can handle things if our little man of the house decides to go off.”_

 

If Lipton was being completely honest with himself, now that the date of his departure was almost here, he was starting to feel truly nervous about moving away from his family and friends and the town he knew so well. But maybe his mother would be right and maybe this change would be good for him.

 

“You know if you think any louder the whole house is gonna hear what you’re thinking.”

 

Carwood turned around and watched as his mother slowly moved his wheel chair towards him, already dressed and ready for the long day ahead of them. He smiled at her and kissed the top of her head when she stopped next to him, as he done for years now.

 

“It’s okay to be nervous you know,” she said with a smile; Carwood didn’t even let himself feel surprised that his mother knew what was on his mind. The woman had been reading his mind ever since he had been born, never had been able to get away with even the feeblest of lies when he was around her.

 

“I’ll be fine,” Lipton told himself as he stared out at the rising sun. “I’ll just need some time to adjust and then I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

 

“Good. Glad to hear that you’re finally believing what I’ve been telling you all along,” she said with a smirk.

 

“I should get to work on chores while the house is still quiet,” Lipton said after a pause while he backed away from the porch and moved towards the door.

 

“Wake Danny up and have him help you!” his mother called after him as he disappeared into the house. “He’s gonna have to start getting used to pulling his weight around here when you’re off at your big bad college.”

 

Lipton just smiled and shook his head. No matter what happened at college, he knew he would miss these mornings with his mother and all the back-breaking chores he undertook in the quiet house.

 

* * *

 

“You know you didn’t have to follow me across the country, Bill.”

 

Bill Guarnere turned to stare at his best friend, who sat with his legs hanging off of the fire escape outside of his bedroom while he stared down at the pavement below.

 

“I can take care of myself,” Edward ‘Babe’ Heffron continued before he took a pull of the cigarette he had bummed off of Bill earlier. “Contrary to what people around he might think. I am a big boy.”

 

“That what you think,” Bill said as he rolled his eyes. “But you ain’t ever been on your own before, so how the fuck would you know if you could take care of yourself or not, eh?”

 

“Maybe if I were ever allowed out on my own I would know how well I could take care of myself,” Babe countered as he ran a hand through his messy red locks.

 

“You burnt yourself makin’ microwave mac n’ cheese,” Bill reminded him as he snagged away his friends cigarette and took a pull. “And cut yourself with a plastic spoon.”

 

“Yeah but that was one of those shitty cafeteria spoons that sometimes had the ragged edges,” Babe defended himself with a very child-like pout. “You gotta admit that sometimes the spoons were sharper than the knives.”

 

“You’re still a clumsy fucking idiot who would have died by now if it weren’t for the people watching your damn Irish hide,” the other teen grumbled.

 

“You know one day I’m not gonna have a safety net of people around me and I’m gonna have to learn how to take care of myself eventually,” Babe snapped, feeling irritated over his apparent lack of self-preservation skills.

 

“Says who?” Bill asked. “I ain’t leaving your ass until our death beds, you know that, right? ‘Til death do us part.”

 

“Okay you say shit like that and then you act all fucking surprised when people think we’re fucking dating each other,” the red head said in exasperation.

 

“You _wish_ you were lucky enough to date me,” the brunette teen said without missing a beat. “I mean, if you’re willing to try you’re gonna have to take that up with Frannie and fight her for me.”

 

“While I do have a height advantage on her I feel like she would fight dirty.”

 

“I taught her everything I know,” he said proudly.

 

“Oh well when you put it like that, maybe I _could_ take her,” Babe joked, which earned a slap upside his head.

 

The two teenage boys were quiet for a moment while they listened to the noises coming from the street and the beaten up second-hand radio sitting on Babe’s desk on the other side of the open window.

 

“But seriously, Bill,” Babe said quietly. “All you ever wanted was to go into the army and now all of a sudden you’re switching up your entire life just so you can volunteer for babysitting for the next four years of your life… you don’t have to do that man.”

 

“Hey I ain’t doing it by myself remember? Julian and Ralph are coming along for the ride as well,” Bill snapped.

 

John Julian and Ralph Spina were Bill and Babe’s other best friends. The four of them had been tearing up the streets of south Philly ever since they were in diapers.

 

“And I’m going into the Army Reserve and my ma and Frannie wanted me to go to college too so you know, why not?” Bill took a final pull of the cigarette before he grounded it out against the railing of the fire escape. “Julian’s been bitching about getting out of Philly since the fourth grade. And fucking Spina wasn’t about to be the only one left out on the fun. If we didn’t actually wanna do this Babe, we would let your ass fly across the country without us.”

 

“Yeah well, I still wish you guys would have let me do this by myself…”

 

“Why? Babe, kids all over the country are pissing themselves over leaving for a college where they’re all alone. And you, a kid who’s never been out of the neighborhood where literally everyone knows your ugly mug, are dying to go to the complete other side of the country to see if they can make it on their own? I mean what the fuck Babe?”

 

“Sink or swim kinda situation,” Babe said with a slight grin as he stared down at the empty street below.

 

“Dumbass situation to put yourself in if you ask me.”

 

“Yeah well I didn’t ask you.”

 

“You’re a little ginger shit, anyone ever tell you that?”

 

“You’ve told me that probably once a week since we were eight, Bill.”

 

“’Cus it’s the damn truth,” Bill said before he got up and swung his leg into Babe’s room through the window. “Now come on. I’m fucking starving and you’re buying cus I loaned you that ten bucks from last week that you still haven’t paid me back for.”

 

“Oh bullshit, whatever, Bill,” Babe said as he followed his friend inside and down the stairs the led towards the street.

 

Sure, when Babe heard the not only Julian but Bill and even Ralph were going to be following him to Pacific Coast University all the way on the west coast he was more than a little annoyed. Mostly because he had just gone through a big speech with all of his friends and family how he wanted to become more independent and how he would never get that living in Philly for the rest of his life where he had family and friends around every turn. But at the same time, he was secretly glad his friends decided to tag along for the ride because yeah, he was a little scared to be going off completely on his own. He could still try and be independent with a couple good pals watching his back so that he didn’t royally fuck up when he was so far away from home, right?

 

_But your plan…_ Babe reminded himself quietly. _You wanted to try and be new Babe._

 

There had been an idea, never really a plan that came into fruition, but there had been a chance that when Babe went away to college, he could maybe become someone different. Not someone completely different from who he was now, just maybe a Babe 2.0 or something. However, ever since Bill and Julian decided to tag along, the idea had been scratched.

 

The more he thought things through, the more he realized it might be a better idea if he had friends there to help him through his transition into Babe 2.0, make it easier to explain things we he went back home and he had to let everyone else in on the transformation.

 

That was the problem with hiding huge things from friends and family. The longer you hid them, the harder it seemed it was to explain shit. But then again, this wasn’t something Babe felt he could just blurt out, even to his closest of friends. No. He still needed time to get used to the idea himself.

 

Hopefully this whole college shit would help him with that.

 

* * *

 

_“Lewis! Get your ass down here right now!”_

 

Lewis Nixon ignored the yell from two floors below and continued on with his slightly rushed packing. He had two open suitcases on his bedroom floor while he stood in front of his dresser and began tossing clothing inside of them at random and hoped that whatever clothes stuck were actually useful. He heard more shouts from downstairs along with a ringing phone but he continued on with his task. He was a man on a mission and he had to get the hell out of dodge while he still had the chance. He had a wallet full of bills recently taken from the ATM, the back of his car was loaded up with some of his pricier possessions, like his laptop and the case of Vat 69 he had hidden under his bed until last night, and his car had a full tank of gas. All he needed was to grab his clothes and he would be out of there. If only he had managed to time it correctly and he would already be an hour away by now. Unfortunately not all of the best laid plans go like they’re supposed to.

 

_“Lewis!”_ his father yelled as his feet pounded up the stairs.

 

He knew he only had another minute to get his shit squared away before his father busted inside looking for a fight and he knew it really wasn’t going to be that easy making a speedy getaway with two large suitcases. As he frantically zipped the two suitcases closed, he looked up at his cracked window and a plan formed quickly in his mind. Rushing forwards, he shoulder checked the window the rest of the way open and with little thought or pause, he shoved the first suitcase out the window and then the other. He watched as the two cases hit the ground with a muted thud, bounced slightly on impact, but stayed seemingly put together. Lewis glanced back at the closed bedroom door and knew that even though it was locked, it would only give him another few seconds of time; his father was sure to have grabbed the key, learning from past experiences with his son. Lewis glanced at the white trellis that stood against the wall of his house. It was covered in ivy and at one point in his life it easily supported his weight but he doubted that it would still support him.

 

“Damn,” Lewis cursed as he stared at the drop and wondered how soft the bushes were in the case that he fell.

 

He turned around at the sound of the rattling doorknob and knew right then and there that he’d have to either face his father or break his neck avoiding him. Wishing he hadn’t kept his trusty flask in the glove compartment of his car, Nixon waited for the click of the lock unlocking and then stared as his father stood in the doorway, looking more pissed off than Nixon had ever seen him in his nineteen years of living.

 

“Hey, Stan,” Nixon said as he causally leaned against his desk and gave his father one of his customary shit-eating grins. “What’s up?”

 

Stanhope Nixon glared at his son who resembled him so, same shiny dark locks and dark eyes, before he took several steps forwards until he was able to reach out and grip the front of his son’s shirt.

 

“What the fuck is wrong with you, huh?” he growled as he brought Lewis’s face close to his.

 

“Oh I don’t know dad, would you like a complete list or just the highlights?”

 

“Don’t give me that shit. I want to know what the fuck snapped in that head that made you decide it would be funny to get yourself thrown out of Yale.”

 

Lewis turned his gaze to the floor while he let himself remember everything that he had done today. He had done almost everything he had ever wanted to do since he had been forced into those hallowed halls last year, everything short from burning down some of the buildings and maybe taking a dump on the dean’s desk. He had always said if he was going to get kicked out of a school, it wouldn’t be because of grades; he’d go out with a bang. And dammit all, he sure went out like a firework.

 

“I don’t know, dad. Kinda funny when you think of how many poor saps are willing to kill to get in every year and I just threw it away like an old t-shirt.”

 

“You definitely threw it away, Lewis,” his father growled as his grip tightened to an almost painful grip. “Four fucking generations of Nixon’s going to Yale and you’ve just ruined it all. You just threw your whole life away.”

 

“Funny, I feel fine. Lighter somehow. Maybe it was all the shit I just escaped from.”

 

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with you!” Stanhope Nixon shouted as he shoved his son against his desk and took a step back. “I’ve tried my best with you, Lewis and you give me nothing in return. I sent you to private school, I got you not only one but three cars after you trashed the first two, I got you into Yale, I don’t know what else I should have done!”

 

“Maybe you should have fucking asked what the hell I wanted, Dad,” Lewis snapped, feeling his temper suddenly spike. “Maybe you should have asked if I wanted to go to that yuppy private school and if I even wanted a piece of shit car in the first place and maybe you should have fucking asked if I wanted to follow in your shitty footsteps and go to your piece of shit school! Because you know what dad?! I didn’t want any of this shit you’ve thrown at me over the years!”

 

“You ungrateful son of a bitch!” he shouted as he took another step backwards.

 

While Lewis would have loved to fight with his father some more, he knew he needed to take the chance while he got it. Lunging forwards, Lewis ran for the door and was already halfway down the stairs before his father had managed to exit the room. Two more flights of stairs and he was at the door, tugging some of his jackets from the coat hook and turning to look at his mother, who looked weary and close to tears.

 

“I’m sorry, mom,” he said and he truly meant it; even though his dad was a piece of shit, his mother tended to at least attempt to understand what Nixon was saying.

 

She nodded her head and smiled the smallest of smiles when Lewis leaned towards her and kissed her on the cheek.

 

“I’ll call you when I can,” he promised her and she only nodded her head in response while he husband stopped down the stairs above them. “I gotta go.”

 

Just as the tops of Stanhope’s feet could be seen at the top of the stairs, Lewis opened the front door and slammed it firmly shut behind him. He paused for a moment to pick up his hastily discarded luggage and ran as fast as he could towards his car that sat waiting for him. He shoved the luggage into the passenger seat along with some other possessions he had grabbed on the way out and started the car before he had even managed to properly close the door. He didn’t let up on the accelerator until he had exited the family property and was on the main road again.

 

Looking in his rearview mirror, all he could see was the outline of his large, cold house as it shrunk more and more the longer he drove. As the family home disappeared completely, a smile slowly grew on his face before he was wearing an almost manic grin on his face.

 

That was it. He was free. Finally.

 

“Pacific Coast University,” Lewis said as pulled on a pair of aviators and flicked on the radio to a local radio station. “Here I come.”

 

* * *

 

“Why do you have to go to a school that’s so far away?”

 

Warren ‘Skip’ Muck turned his attention away from the television set that had been holding his attention for the better part of the last hour. He focused instead on the tiny brunette who was sitting curled under his left arm as she looked up at him with warm brown eyes. He gave his girlfriend a squeeze and kissed her on the top of her head before he spoke to her.

 

“I’m sorry, what did you say? I got distracted,” he said as he grinned down at her which caused her to roll her eyes.

 

“Why do you have to go to college so far away, Skip?” she asked with a slight pout. “There are like literally a billion colleges that are way closer to home than the one you picked. Like, you could have picked a school in the middle of freaking Texas and it’d still be closer.”

 

“I don’t really know, Faye,” Skip admitted with a shrug. “I just wanted a change is all.”

 

“And like I said, could you have picked a school that was farther away?” Faye asked as she continued to pout.

 

“I could have gone to Alaska or Hawaii,” Skip joked after a slight pause which earned him a pinch to the stomach.

 

“I’m just gonna miss you is all,” Faye admitted quietly as she curled under Skip’s arm and pressed her face into his chest. “We haven’t been apart for more than a week, like, ever.”

 

“I know,” Skip said as he stroked her hair. “But I guess this is where we put us to the test and see what comes of it.”

 

“I don’t want a test,” she said as she looked up at him through her lashes. “I just want us.”

 

Skip felt his heart flutter at his girlfriend’s words. Smiling, he bent down and kissed her. When they broke away, he kept his forehead rested against Faye’s, almost desperate to stay as close to her as possible.

 

It was times like this that made Skip unsure if he would be able to leave his sweet and perfect girlfriend behind on the other side of the county. Faye was speaking the truth when she said they hadn’t been apart for more than a week since they had met, all the way back to the first day of middle school. Now they were expected to regularly spend weeks apart? He knew it was going to be difficult bu Skip felt like after a learning curve, they would master it like they had mastered everything else in their relationship.

 

“We’re gonna be just fine,” Skip said quietly and confidently as he stared lovingly into Faye’s eyes. “I promise.”

 

“Pinkie promise?” she asked as she held out her slim finger.

 

Skip smiled wider at the act that went all the way back to when they first met in sixth grade before he wrapped his own finger around hers and gave it a squeeze.

 

“Pinkie promise.”

 

“Good.”

 

Faye tilted her head upwards and kissed him softly before she turned her attention back to the television rerun that they had both seen a million times. As Skip watched the show and listed to his girlfriend laugh and talk while they shared a soda and some chips he did his best to remind himself that change was a good thing. Change made a person grow and he felt after being stuck in his tiny hometown for eighteen years, he needed a chance to grow.

 

_This is gonna be a good thing,_ Skip reminded himself as Faye began to doze against his chest. _A change will be good for you. This isn’t a mistake at all. Right?_

 

* * *

 

Eugene Sledge stared forwards while his father pressed a cold stethoscope to his chest. He glanced down at his father for a moment, he was all grey hair and glasses and calm concentration, before he refocused on the wall ahead of him and did his best to keep calm. It was a moment later before his father pulled back with a slight sigh on his lips.

 

“Eugene,” his father said softly, looking concerned.

 

“I’m fine, dad,” Eugene said defiantly.

 

His father tipped his head downwards slightly, which caused his glasses to catch a glare and become miniature mirrors for a moment; Eugene was able to see his reflection: red hair, pale skin, brown eyes squinting slightly in defiance, pale lips downturned slightly in displeasure. His father looked back at him with similar brown eyes from his place on the stool he had dragged across the room while Eugene sat on his bed.

 

“I just don’t really like the sound of your heart, son,” he said as kindly and gently as he could as he placed his stethoscope back into his medical bag.

 

“Well it’s the only one I have and it’s been doing alright for about eighteen years,” Eugene snapped as he reached out for his shirt and tugged it over himself.

 

“Your mother and I worry, Eugene,” his father said earnestly. “You’ve had trouble before in the past and we just don’t want you to go so far away when something could happen to you.”

 

“You act as if there aren’t doctors and civilized medicine in California,” he countered as he stood up.

 

“Eugene…”

 

“Am I just gonna have to stay here in Mobile for the rest of my life just because my heart beats a little different from everyone else?”

 

Eugene stared as his father as he slowly got up from his seat and picked up his medical bag. He walked towards his son and placed a kind hand on his shoulder while he looked him in the eye.

 

“I’m not going to force you to stay here, Eugene,” his father said. “I’m never gonna force you to do anything you don’t want to. I just want you to know that I worry.”

 

“I’ll be fine,” he repeated in a less hostile and annoyed tone.

 

“Well, your mother’s not going to be very pleased with but your mother has always been something of a worrier.”

 

“Thanks, dad,” Eugene said, smiling.

 

“I’ll break the news to her that we can’t keep you on a leash forever,” his father said with a slight shake of his head as he took a step towards the door. “Maybe you should clear out for a bit while I break the news.”

 

“I’ll go let Sid know,” Eugene said while he thought of his best friend. “Maybe take Deacon out for a walk as well.”

 

“Good. Just try and be back in time for supper.”

 

“I will.”

 

Eugene grabbed his sweatshirt, pulled it on over his t-shirt, and walked down the hall and stairs towards the front door. He passed by the parlor, where he spotted his mother sitting down as his father walked towards her. He picked up his pace, not wanting to be in the vicinity when the shoe dropped.

 

“Come on, Deacon,” he said as he passed by the dozing dog that laid by the door.

 

The dog perked up as Eugene shoved his feet into a pair of tennis shoes and grabbed the dog leash. He quickly snapped the metal clasp around his dog’s collar before he opened the door and rushed outside. Together they walked down the steps that lead off of the large wrap around porch and went down the long dirt road that led to the end of the large amount of property his family owned. He pulled out his cell phone from his pants pocket and began texting his best friend, Sidney:

**Wanna meet up?**

 

Before Eugene could even return his phone to his pocket, his phone buzzed with a new text message from Sidney.

 

**usual place?**

 

**Yeah,** Eugene typed.

 

**be there in 5,** Sid responded.

 

Eugene shoved his phone into his pocket and began to jog down the dirt road with Deacon running along beside him. After passing through the gates of the property, Eugene took a left and jogged down the country road for a few minutes before he took a right and began to walk down a hidden path in the forest. There was a minor path to follow, years of moving through the thick vegetation has created a slight dirt depression in the ground and tree branches grew slightly out of the way. Eugene followed the path until he ended up in a small clearing and sat down next to a large boulder at the edge of the clearing. He unclipped Deacon from his leash and let him go, knowing he was so well trained that he would come back if he went too far.

 

“Parents finally let you out of the house?”

 

Eugene turned his head and watched as his best friend emerged from the foliage on the opposite side of the clearing. Sidney Phillips grinned at him as he flicked a low hanging branch out of his way, brown eyes crinkling as he smiled while his blond curls stuck up erratically as usual. He crossed the clearing, scratching the top of Deacon’s head as he passed, and sat down across from him. The clearing was equidistance from the two friends’ houses and as children they would always meet up there together. Sometimes they would travel into the woods together, sometimes they would just use it as a place to meet up before they left to go somewhere else, other times the two friends just sat there and talked for hours.

 

“Even better,” Eugene said with a smile.  “My dad gave me the official okay to go away.”

 

“Cutting it kinda close, aren’t we?” Sid joked. “We’re leaving in a couple of days. Paid your acceptance fee, already sent half your shit across the country, set up your room and board… I sure hope you’re going to be allowed to go to PCU.”

 

“Yeah well my mom’s been holding on hope that maybe I’ll get cold feet and duck out of this.”

 

“She’s always been protective of her bouncing baby boy,” Sid sneered; Eugene slapped him upside the head with the back of his hand.

 

“Shut up, you dumb greaser.”

 

“What?! Only telling the truth. She’s always had you on a tight leash.”

 

“Yeah, well, I guess she has some reason to…” Eugene mumbled as he watched Deacon sniff around some trees.

 

The grin that had been on Sid’s face a moment ago slowly faded until he was looking way too serious for Eugene’s liking. He watched as his friend fiddled with some weeds for a moment before Side spoke quietly.

 

“So how’s the old ticker working?”

 

“Dad said he didn’t like the sound of it but I’m sure I’m fine,” Eugene answered. “They need to understand I’m not going to live the rest of my life in their house while I’m watched over by my doctor twenty-four-seven. One day I’ll be out and I’ll have to take care of myself.”

 

“Yeah well, I’m sure they just didn’t expect your first big move to be to a college that’s a thousand miles away. Probably expected you to take baby steps.”

 

“I just felt like I needed a big move. Just jump right into the whole, independent adult thing.”

 

“Good thing I’m going along with you or else they probably would have had you chained down in the basement already,” Sid joked.

 

While Eugene was glad that his lifelong friend would be with him for the next part of his life, a small part of him wished his friend had decided to pick somewhere else to attend college. This choice of college was made in an attempt to show how well he would do on his own and it was a little hard to prove that to his parents when his watchful best friend was sleeping five feet away in the same room.

 

“Hey, you know someone’s gotta watch over your scrawny butt,” Sid said as if he had read his friends mind. “Might as well do it and not some unqualified frat boy.”

 

“Well when you put it that way.”

 

The two friends sat in a comfortable silence for some time while Deacon sniffed and searched around the area, curious as a puppy that he hadn’t been in some time.

 

“We’re gonna have fun at college,” Sid said confidently as he leaned back and lied down on the cool grass. “I can feel it.”

 

Eugene looked down at Sidney for a long moment before he lied down in the grass next to him. They stared up at the canopy of trees for a while Eugene let himself get buried in his thoughts. He thought about how ever since he was young he was put on a tighter than normal leash, all because of some dumb heart defect that gave him a hard time approximately once a year in eighteen years of life. He thought about how his father, who was also a well know practicing doctor in the area, gave him weekly check-ups to please his mother, who seemed to think he might drop dead if he did more than walk to the end of the property with the dog. He realized that for once, there would be no mother over his shoulder making sure he never over-exerted himself, no father to press a cold stethoscope to his chest in the morning before school, no older brother to watch him like a hawk when their parents weren’t around. Sure, Sidney would be there with him, but Sid always encouraged him to be more active, more physical. For once in his lifetime, Eugene Sledge was going to do what he wanted, when he wanted.

 

“You know what, Sid?” Eugene said as he tilted his head toward his friend. “I can feel it to. College is gonna be great.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Fuck.”

 

Merriell Shelton stared at the metal door in front of him as he gripped the unmoving doorknob. As if it might suddenly become unlocked, he gave the knob another twist but it stayed locked into position. Sighing slightly, he bent down and flipped up the black mat but there was no emergency key underneath, just a bunch of pebbles and bits of old gum.

 

“Fuck,” he repeated softly, more of a sigh than an actual word.

 

He remembered now that he hadn’t returned the emergency key back to its place under the mat from the last time he forgot his keys. Grumbling slightly, Shelton began to walk around the building, scoping out each window as he went. One of the windows was loose and could be easily jimmied open from the outside. At least he hoped there was still a loose window. Gene had mentioned about getting it fixed a little while back but the poor guy was usually so busy he hardly ever had time to do half the stuff he wanted to.

 

“Jackpot,” he said as the window jerked upwards after some force.

 

There was an unpleasant screeching noise that sounded a lot louder in the late night/ early morning hours but soon enough he had the window opened enough to fit his skinny ass inside. With a practice ease, Merriell pulled himself up and inside before he tumbled as quietly as he could manage to the floor.

 

“Shit!” he swore as his head knocked against a filing cabinet which caused a couple files to tumble to the ground.

 

“Shelton, that better be you waking the dead in there or else we’re going to have a problem,” said a voice from the next room over.

 

“Thought you would have gone home by now,” Shelton drawled as he rubbed his head. “Bit late, don’t you think?”

 

“You’re one to talk about coming in late,” said the dark outline of a tall, thin figure in the doorway.

 

“Yeah well this is where I crash, you however actually have a real place so you are in a worse spot than me.”

 

It was then that the figure reached out and flicked the light switch so that the two of them were suddenly cast in blinding white light. Shelton winced for a moment before he opened an eye and took in the man before him: dressed in a pair of wrinkled and slightly stained blue scrubs, he had thick inky black hair that stuck up messily, dark blue eyes, and pale skin with dark circles under his eyes which proved just how little rest he actually got. His name was Eugene Roe and he was probably the closest thing to a friend Merriell had ever had before.

 

“What are you doing climbing in through a window anyhow?” Roe asked as he stared at Merriell.

 

“Forgot my key.”

 

“There’s a spare under the mat, you know that.”

 

“Yeah well I kinda forgot to put that one back after the last time I used it.”

 

“Shelton if your head wasn’t attached to your neck I think you’d misplace that too,” Eugene said in exasperation as he took a step backwards and ducked out of the cluttered room.

 

“I didn’t misplace shit, Gene,” he said as he followed him out into the white tiled hallway that was light by bright white florescent. “I just forgot them in the back.”

 

“Cus there’s such a big difference between misplacing and forgetting,” he said as they turned and walked into something that resembled a waiting room; old worn chairs were pushed up against the walls while beaten up copies of out of date magazines laid messily over a scuffed wooden table. A large desk covered in files and an outdated bulky computer sat facing the locked front doors.

 

“How did you not have your keys? You took the truck didn’t you?” Roe asked as he pulled out a key ring and unlocked the unmarked wooden door behind the desk. “Don’t you keep your key on the same ring as the truck?”

 

“Naw, keep forgettin’ to put them on the same ring,” Shelton said as Roe unlocked the door and opened it for him.

 

Gene gave him a flat stare for a moment before he shook his head and sighed. He shoved his own keys back into his pocket before he put a hand on the other man’s shoulder and pushed him towards the dark room.

 

“Just get your ass in there,” he snapped. “And I wanna see you put the building key with the truck key.”

 

“Yes momma,” Shelton drawled as he stepped into the dark room, the only light coming from the window that let in scant rays of moonlight.

 

Gene opened his mouth to say something else but before he could Shelton pulled the door shut and cut him off before he could speak. Shelton stood with his back pressed to the door for a moment and waited for the sound of Gene’s footsteps disappearing before he reached out and flicked on the old lamp that he knew was within arm’s reach. The lamp clicked on and cast the back room in a glow of yellow light.

 

A twin mattress was set up on against the wall to his right and directly across the bed sat a second hand dressed that had an outdated television sitting on top of it along with a beaten up clock radio. On the far wall of the room was a counter with a sink. Sitting on top of the sink was a new toaster over, an old coffee maker, and unplugged hot plate. A mini fridge sat on the ground under the counter, humming quietly in the silent room. The room wasn’t much of anything at all but it was probably the best home Merriell Shelton had had in years. It wasn’t like he was in much of a place to complain when Gene was letting him live in the back room of the medical clinic he worked in for free.

 

Merriell kicked off his old, scuffed, and beaten boots and walked over to the counter. He hoisted himself up next to the window and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pants pocket. Gene had a big rule about no smoking in the clinic but Merriell figured if there were no patients present and he opened the window when he did, there wasn’t much room to complain if he smoked for a bit. As Merriell flicked some ash out of the window, he caught his reflection in the glass of the window: erratic dark brown curls, pale eyes, skin tanned from almost two decades spent outside in the hot Louisiana sun.

 

He turned away from his tired reflection as he tossed the finished cigarette out the window. Sliding off of the counter and moving to his bed, Merriell lied down, his body sagging with the relief of sleep but his mind felt like it was filled with a million buzzing bees. Shelton always had trouble sleeping; barely slept as a child, rarely slept as an adult. He didn’t really know why. Just didn’t feel tired like normal people were supposed to.

 

Shelton’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out to inspect the latest text message:

 

**willing to pick up another shift tomorrow morning?**

It was one of the guys from the ship yard Shelton worked that was an hour drive away from the clinic, all the way down in New Orleans. Knowing he could use the money, Merriell barely took a moment to think before he typed in his response.

 

**sure. what time?**

He waited a moment before his phone buzzed again with another message.

 

**11 thanks snafu**

Merriell stared at the text message for a moment before he let his phone drop gently to the ground while he stared up at the ceiling, his mind buzzing with a billion thoughts.

  

Snafu was a nickname that had been given to him a long time ago, so far back that he couldn’t even remember who or when exactly the name had been given to him. As far back as he could remember there had been people calling him Snafu. More people back in his old neighborhood in New Orleans knew him as Snafu than Merriell or even Shelton.

 

In Baton Rouge where people didn’t really know him or at the clinic when it was just him and Gene and a couple clinic employees who didn’t know any better, he was Shelton or even Merriell. Here he was a person with a name and no real story except one of a kid who just needed some help and had a friend who was kind enough to loan a room in the back of the building to him. In return for the kindness of letting him sleep in the clinic, Shelton would give a hand where ever he could if he was around and no one had a problem with the occasionally gruff and grumpy Shelton staying with them until he left for school.

 

But back in New Orleans, where he had lived for almost eighteen years, still worked in the ship yards, caused enough problems with the local police for a lifetime, where more than enough people knew the fucked up story surrounding the Shelton name, he was Snafu.

 

And Snafu was a text book, grade-A fuck up.

 

He knew the when people heard his name as it was in New Orleans, Snafu Shelton, they were more than likely to leave his presence as quickly as they could. Sometimes people, usually the idiotic young men, would ask him if the stories were true. After so many years of hearing this, Shelton stopped trying to let people know what stories were and weren’t true and just rolled with the identity the city gave him.

 

He was Snafu Shelton, the baby that was so awful that his mother left him when he was a year old because she couldn’t stand him, the toddler who ran away and lived with alligators and possums for a year instead of living with his abusive, drug dealing, alcoholic father, the young boy who was kicked out of every elementary school in the area for biting teachers and swearing at the other kids and for destroying at least three classrooms, the young boy who tortured stray animals in the alley way next to his house and learned voodoo from the old ladies who lived on the outskirts of town, the kid who lived in the abandoned, rotting buildings for months after Katrina hit with the dead, bloated bodies, the teen that set fire to the church yard and broke into houses when he needed money and who almost beat his crack-head daddy to death after he tried to hit him, the teen who dropped out of school at thirteen and who could barely read or write, the teen who was blamed whenever something bad happened that couldn’t be explained, the teen who lived in a meth lab out of town after his father finally kicked him out and sold a whole slew of drugs across the state of Louisiana.

 

That was the person most people saw when he walked around his old neighborhood; some completely fucked up guy with more problems than everyone in the city combined. He knew people wondered how long it would be before either jail or death took him away from the city but he just really couldn’t give a shit about what the idiots said about him. Besides, in a week he would be out of the piece of shit city that never wanted him to begin with. He’d be on the other side of the country at a college filled with people who had never heard his name before.

 

_Probably hear some interestin’ theories on what happened to me,_ Shelton thought to himself with a slight grin.

 

He glanced at the time on the clock across the room; the glowing numbers showed him that it was going on four-thirty in the morning now and he should probably try and get some sleep if he was going to be back in the city by eleven tomorrow. He should feel exhausted, he had worked all day in the ship yard after sleeping very little the night before, barely ate, stopped by a bar he knew that didn’t card, had a couple drinks, stopped by the house of one of the lovely bar patron’s, and finally arrived back at the clinic at four in the morning. But because of whatever part of his brain was fucked up, he couldn’t sleep. All he could think about was finally leaving this godforsaken state and going somewhere new.

 

* * *

 

 

David Webster slid the plastic key card into the slot, watched with tired eyes as the light blinked from red to green, heard the click of the lock, and then opened the hotel room door. He grabbed his other overstuffed suitcase, wedged his extra pillow under his arm, and walked inside with the door closing behind him.

 

The hotel room was clean and orderly but it also carried a distinct lonely feeling. The single queen bed sat alone, an empty closet, only one chair sat at the tiny table in the corner...

 

Feeling his exhaustion hit him like a ton of bricks, David let go of his meager belongings and walked to the bed. Fully clothed, he fell on top of the bed face first and didn’t move for several minutes. He wanted nothing more than to just dissolve into the soft bed and never be bothered ever again. Well, there was one thing he wanted more but he knew he wasn’t about to get that anytime soon.

 

It was strange to think that this morning he had woken up in his own bed back home, back when everything in his house seemed somewhat normal and good. Twelve hours later he could still hear the yelling of his parents and brother, still see his younger sister torn, not quite sure what to do or who to side with, still feel the ache in his jaw where he had been punched and the back of his head that had been hit with something.

 

It had been a rather long and eventful day for him to say the least.

 

Mustering up his remaining energy, David rolled over onto his back and kicked off his shoes as he stared up at the white ceiling. He hoped that maybe when he went to sleep he would wake up back in his bedroom back in New York, would hear the noises of his siblings getting ready, both much earlier risers than him, would smell all the familiar smells of home and everything would be okay. However, David knew better. He knew that when he did wake up, he’d still be in the hotel room in northern California that was a forty minute drive from his college, still be alone in the world, still be telling himself not to run back home and beg for his parents to forgive him or understand him. No. David Kenyon Webster may be some things but he was not a beggar and he was not going to give his parents the satisfaction of seeing him like that.

 

David ran his fingers through his thick, dark brown curls and gave his locks a small painful pull. He didn’t know why but it felt kind of good, the pain. So he kept pulling until his scalp ached and he let go, feeling too close to crying for his comfort. He took a deep, shaky breath in hopes that it would calm him down but it didn’t do anything. He still felt the pressure in his eyes, the tightness in his throat that only came before he started crying, it was only a matter of time now.

 

“Shit,” he sighed as he closed his eyes and felt the first two tears trickle down the sides of his face and fall into his hair.

 

Giving in completely, David let out a small sob and let the tears roll down his face as he did his best to cry as quietly as possible. Really though, he guess he should at least commend himself for making it this far without crying. He made it through a screaming match with his parents and brother, was dry eyed in the taxi to the airport and on the plane over here, made it through another taxi ride, and only now after so many hours of holding everything in was he finally letting it all out. He guessed if there was a place and time to break down, now when he was alone was probably the best option.

 

Between his tears and the general exhaustion of the day, David felt himself slipping rather fast into the realm of sleep. He didn’t fight it as he felt more and more tears rolling down his face. He begged for anything that might be able to take him out of this piece of shit day and put him somewhere better.

 

He hoped with all of his being that this was the right thing to do. The college, so far from his home, so far from the people who were _supposed_ to love him unconditionally no matter what… he just wanted something to go right for once.

 

_Please let this not be a mistake_ , David begged as he drifted off to sleep. _I just need this to go right_.

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are making their way to Pacific Coast Academy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who read last chapter and liked it. Here's chapter two :)

* * *

“Fucking shit,” Lewis Nixon cursed as he opened the hood of his car and did his best to avoid the huge explosion of steam and smoke that erupted from within the car.

 

Nixon brought a hand to his head and messed his already unkempt locks up even more. He had been making great time since he managed to escape from his parent’s house and was almost two hours into his approximately three day journey when for whatever fucking reason, his car refused to work properly anymore.

 

“Fucking perfect,” Nixon groaned as he slammed the hood of the car down.

 

He had no fucking clue what was wrong with the car or how to even fix a car if he could even guess what was wrong with it; rich kid problems. Pulling out his phone, he went to dial the number for road side assistance he had in case of situations like these when he noticed that to top off the shitty situation, he had zero phone reception.

 

“Today is just not my day,” he groaned as he leaned against his car and looked up at the darkening sun.

 

Not knowing what else to do, Nixon dove into the car, grabbed his back pack and car keys, locked the car, and began walking down the road in the way he had already driven. He wasn’t sure what was in front of him but he remembered passing some sort of sign of civilization a mile or two back and knew it was probably his best bet. Feeling his head pound in annoyance, he unzipped his backpack and pulled out an old metal flask. He opened it and quickly downed a shot or two of the harsh liquid inside that helped with the irritation he was feeling.

 

_At least it’s not too hot out_ , Lewis thought to himself as he took another pull from his flask.

 

It was a rather peaceful and cool night for August; sure he was working up a slight sweat as he hiked down the empty country road but all things considered, it could be one-hundred degrees out tonight and humid as all hell. He’d take it.

 

Thankfully for him only after a half an hour of walking, he saw some lights in the distance; the lights belong to a small diner. Thinking of how he could do with a burger too, he guessed maybe today wasn’t going to go so badly after all

 

The diner looked friendly enough, brightly lit on the inside with a number of cars in the dirt lot of a parking lot; Nixon didn’t get any bad feeling from entering a place like that alone. A bell rang when he entered and after glancing around the semi-filled diner, he walked forwards to the register where a young woman stood.

 

“Can I help you?” she asked with a smile as she fingered a menu in her hands.

 

“Uh yeah, I was wondering if you had a phone I could borrow,” Lewis started off. “My car broke down a couple miles down the road and I don’t have any cell phone reception out here.”

 

“I’m afraid the payphone outside it broken,” she said as her smile dipped to a frown that actually looked genuine.

 

“Perfect,” he groaned he rubbed a hand over his face.

 

“You can borrow my phone if you’d like.”

 

Lewis turned his head and stared at the tall, thin, red-headed teenage boy who was sitting next to him at the bar, holding out his cell phone to him. He had a small but warm smile on his face and his brown eyes looked kind and trusting. He couldn’t help but notice the smile on the strangers face widened considerably the longer Lewis stared at him. Finally, the stranger dipped his head shyly and stared at the ground to avoid Lewis’s gaping.

 

“Do you need my phone or not?” the guy asked as he looked up at Lewis through his eyelashes with the small smile still on his face.

 

_Fuck,_ Lewis thought at his heart started racing and he suddenly seemed to lose the ability to speak.

 

He did his best to smile at the young man and accepted the phone. After a quick call with the guy at triple A, Lewis ended the call, and handed the phone back to the stranger, who had been watching him the entire time Lewis was on the phone.

 

“Thanks,” Lewis managed to say, his throat having magically unstuck itself now. As he handed the phone back to the red-head, their fingers brushed, and it felt as if an electric shock had gone through his entire body. He fumbled and almost dropped the phone on the ground. “Shit, sorry.”

 

“It’s alright,” the guy said as he caught the phone before the fall and placed it back into his pocket. “Your car alright?”

 

“Uh, yeah, think so,” Lewis said as he scratched his head nervously while he avoided looking the man in the eyes again. “Said they’d have someone out here within the hour and then they’d see what they could do from there.”

 

“Well, since your waiting…” the guy reached out to the stool next to him and patted it. “This place has some of the best pie in the entire state.”

 

For a moment, Lewis thought of telling the man no, he’d just go back and wait in his car, that he wasn’t hungry, but after a moment of thinking, he figured what the hell? He was in the middle of nowhere, in a place no one knew him, he had time to kill and there was a rather handsome guy sitting right here who was willing to talk to him.

 

“Sure, why not?” Lewis said as he sat down on the stood.

 

“Hey, Jane, two slices of the apple for me and the stranger,” he said with his constant calm smile as a waitress passed by them. The guy then turned to Lewis and smiled wider at him. He extended a hand to Lewis and said, “My name’s Richard by the way. Richard Winters, but everyone just calls me Dick.”

 

“Well hello, Dick,” Lewis said, doing his best to ignore the wish the grin like a seven year old at the guy’s name, before he calmly accepted his hand and shook it. “I’m Lewis Nixon.”

 

“Well, Lewis, welcome to Lancaster.”

 

* * *

 

“Your car all fixed up then?” Dick asked as he pocketed his phone again over two hours later. The guy from Triple A had called again to inform Nixon that his car was up and running again.

 

“Seems so,” Lewis said as he checked the time on his wrist watch. He then looked up at Dick and frowned slightly. “I guess I should get going. I’m on a bit of a schedule.”

 

“I understand,” Duck said with a nod of his head but when Lewis got up from his seat, so did he. When Lewis raised his eyebrow he simply shrugged and said, “Might as well get going too. I’ll give you a lift to your car.”

 

“What you don’t think I can handle myself?” Nix joked as they made for the door. “Dangerous neighborhood we’re in, I know.”

 

“I’m just being polite,” Dick said as he stared at Lewis with those big, warm brown eyes that just seemed to melt Lewis the more he stared. “Can’t a guy do that?”

 

“Well you did already buy me dessert,” Lewis mumbled, feeling nervous again.

 

“Call me overly polite,” he said with a shrug as he opened the door. Dick broke his eye contact as the waitress who had been serving them all night passed by. “Night, Jane.”

 

Jane stopped, turned around, and gave the two of them a once-over that felt more akin to x-ray vision to Lewis, before she smiled.

 

“Be careful, Dickey,” she warned in a tone that caused Dick to blush and drop his gaze to the ground.

 

“ _Goodnight_ , Jane,” he repeated in a somewhat strained tone.

 

“Goodnight, Dickey,” she said with a nod. “And goodnight to you too, Lewis.”

 

“Food was excellent,” Lewis said.

 

“If you’re ever in the area again, stop by. I make some mean pancakes too.”

 

“I’ll have to think about it,” Lewis said as he glanced back at Dick, who was staring outside now. “Goodnight.”

 

Together, Lewis and Dick walked across the now empty parking lot towards one of the remaining cars, a slightly rusted green pick-up. As Dick turned the key in the ignition, the old car roared to life, along with the crackling radio station that had been left on.

 

As Dick pulled out of the parking lot, Lewis couldn’t help but think about the last two hours he had spent in the diner. He and Dick had talked easily about everything and anything; it was obvious they had some major chemistry going on. But then again maybe Lewis was just imagining things; it had happened before. The first guy he had ever gotten a crush on when he was fifteen, soon after he realized he was bisexual, turned out to be completely straight when Lewis tried to make a move on him; it was a memory he tried to forget. Because of that instance, he rarely made the first move when it came to guys but there was just something about Dick that made him feel confident.

 

_Dammit, just man up,_ Nixon, he told himself as they drove down the road and began to approach a dark object that had to be his car. _You’re never gonna see this guy again. Just do it. If you fucked up, oh well. You just won’t come here again._

 

“That your car?” Dick asked as he pointed at the object in the distance.

 

“Yeah,” Nixon answered as he fidgeted in his seat.

 

Dick pulled up next to the car so that the passenger door was parallel to the driver’s door of Nixon’s car and parked the car. He glanced at Nixon out of the corner of his eye and smiled softly at him. He didn’t know what it was exactly, between the seemingly flirty expression on his face, the moonlight streaming in from the window, or the fact that Nixon didn’t have much to lose here, but for whatever reason he lunged forwards and kissed Dick.

 

For a moment, Nixon was sure his heart stopped. Not just from the nerves involved in his daring move, but that fact that it felt like his entire body had been struck by lightning. He was about to break away, feeling mortified because his advances weren’t reciprocated, when he felt a tentative hand on the back of Lew’s head and felt pressure against his own lips. He let out a deep breath as his heart raced and deepened the kiss a little more.

 

Lew slid a hand down Dick’s chest and began to fiddle with the buttons on Dick’s shirt. He had gotten the first button undone, revealing a patch of smooth, pale skin, before Dick slid his hand away from Lewis’s head and onto his chest, where he gave him a gentle push. Lewis broke away, feeling dizzier than if he had drank a whole bottle of whiskey.

 

“I have to get going home,” Dick said with his head downturned but even in the dim light Lewis could see how red his face was. “My dad wants me back in half an hour.”

 

“Okay,” Lewis said as he reached behind him and opened the door. “Thanks for… for everything.”

 

“Yeah, thanks for…for that,” Dick said as he glanced at Nixon, smiling slightly. “If you’re ever in the area, stop by… Jane wasn’t kidding about the pancakes.”

 

“Yeah,” Nixon said as he stepped out of the truck. “If I’m ever in the area, I’ll stop. But only for the pancakes.”

 

“Alright.”

 

“Good night, Dick,” Lewis said as he closed the door softly and took a step backwards towards his car.

 

“Good night, Lew,” Dick said with a nod before he shifted the car and drove off down the road.

 

Lewis raised his arms and gripped the back of his head as he watched Dick’s truck disappear into the distance, a grin growing wider and wider with every passing second. He would definitely be stopping back in Lancaster sometime _very_ soon.

 

* * *

 

“Thanks for the ride,” David said as he handed the cab driver his money and opened the car door.

 

After grabbing his possessions from the trunk of the taxi, he shouldered his bags and began walking down the sidewalk that lead to his new home: Hanks House at Pacific Coast Academy. This morning when he had woken up, feeling worse than he had in a while in his empty hotel room, he had told himself that today would be different. Today would be the real start of his new life, the start of a new David. He wouldn’t have to hide anything anymore, wouldn’t have to pretend to be someone he wasn’t, wouldn’t have to feel as if he had to please someone. For the first time in his life, he would be just him. He would be the person he wanted to be.

 

As David looked around the college campus, filled with brick buildings and tons of greenery to enjoy, he noticed that hardly any students were up and about, but then again, it was unsurprising, seeing as he was technically early. The official move in day wasn’t for another two days but a couple of students, including himself, had been able to arrive early.

 

After a couple minutes of walking, he finally arrived at Hanks House, a five story brick building surrounding by trees. He entered the building and took in the almost deserted, half-decorated lobby. There were a couple of pool tables, some snack machines, a fosse ball table, a flat screen in the corner surrounded by a couple comfy couches, and several chairs and tables that were set up around the perimeter. It looked like a welcoming area but he’d take a better look of it later.

 

Webster headed towards the front desk, where a bored and annoyed looking girl sat as she stared at the computer screen.

 

“Hello, I’m here to check in,” he said as he smiled politely at her.

 

When the girl looked up, she blinked, looking slightly caught off guard, before she smiled widely and grabbed the clip board she had sitting next to her.

 

“And your name?” she said with a flirty smile.

 

“David Webster,” he said with a small smile, feeling a little nervous with the attention she was giving him.

 

“Alright, David, can I see some I.D.?” she asked.

 

“Yeah, of course,” he said as he fumbled to find his wallet.

 

The girl spent what David felt was longer than necessary examination his driver’s license before she handed it back to him with another smile.

 

“Ah, found you, David Webster, room 512,” she said as she checked off his name and began searching for the proper key. “Here you go, David.”

 

“Thanks,” he said as he pocketed the key and avoided her gaze.

 

“You know I don’t think anyone else from floor five has gotten here yet I’m in room 211, if you feel like you need some company later,” she said as she leaned forward, showing off her cleavage. “I’m Amy, by the way.”

 

“Uh, yeah, thanks,” David mumbled, feeling nervous and uneasy. “I’ll see you later…”

 

Stumbling slightly, David managed to get into the elevator without too much difficulty where he jabbed at the number five button.

 

_Smooth, David, very smooth_ , he told himself as he sagged against the wall of the elevator.

 

The elevator opened up to the eerily quiet and clearly deserted fifth floor. David glanced at all the closed doors and instantly felt alone again. He wished that there was someone else there with him; it didn’t feel like the best way to start off on a new chapter of his life, alone and in the semi-darkness. His room, 512, was near the end of the hall. He inserted the key and opened the door, fumbling in the dark for a moment while he felt around for the light switch. Once the room was illuminated in the yellow light, he was able to take in the two striped beds, the empty desks, the cold, carpet-less floor and the bare walls. Again, this was not the way David felt his new chapter of life should start off but he guess that beggars couldn’t be choosers and he would gladly take what he could get at this point.

 

Sitting down on top of one of the bare beds, David stared out the window. He was able to see a large amount of the campus from the top floor of the building, could see tons of trees, the quad, a couple of basketball courts and a soccer field, along with a number of other smaller buildings. Everything looked so picturesque and perfect and it made him feel hopeful.

 

Then again, Webster thought about what people must have thought when they saw him and his family; saw how happy and perfect and put together they all seemed in the family pictures that hung up around their house when in reality they had more problems bubbling under the surface than most people could imagine.

 

_Wonder if they’ve cut me out of the pictures yet_ , David mussed darkly with a hint of a smile while he thought of what state his house was probably in.

 

David stared at the blank floor for a moment, suddenly feeling painfully homesick. He missed how the kitchen smelled of coffee and baked goods whenever he finally managed to drag his butt out of bed in the morning. He missed sitting outside on the porch with his younger sister Annie, drinking iced tea and talking about books while they watched the dog run around their sprawling back yard. He missed sitting together in the living room or one of their bedrooms with his younger brother John, just watching the television and not bickering or fighting for once. He missed a lot about his home, but David knew there was more bad than good that came from that house and his family.

 

This,moving away, going to a school on the opposite side of the country, cutting himself off from his family completely, this was a good idea.

 

“Come on,” he mumbled to himself as he pushed himself off of the bed. “Time to unpack.”

 

* * *

 

The ride to the airport was only mildly awkward, but Leckie had been anticipating that. His father drove, listening to the radio, occasionally putting in his own quiet and somewhat rambling input. His mother sat in the passenger’s seat, humming quietly to the songs that played while speaking quietly about events going around in the neighborhood whenever the car was too quiet for too long. Leckie sat stretched out in the back while he flipped through a couple different paperback books that he had shoved into his carry on, not really getting into any of them at the moment. His sister Karen, who still lived at the house during the summer, decided not to come to the airport to say goodbye and Leckie was fine with that; they settled for a semi-awkward hug on the front porch before he left.

 

He had an overstuffed suitcase in the trunk of the car along with his laptop and book bag; the bulkier of his belongings had already been shipped across the country and would hopefully be at the college when he arrived there. It was because of his fear of losing his possessions to the postal services that he was carrying a miniature library in his backpack. Filled to capacity, his backpack contained approximately twenty of his favorite books, along with his iPod, his phone charger, and a pair of compression socks his mother insisted he wear during the plane ride.

 

“Well, here we are, Robert,” his father said as he pulled up against the curb in front of the airport doors.

 

“Thanks for the ride, Dad,” Leckie said quietly as he slung his backpack of his shoulder, grabbed his laptop bag, and began to exit the car.

 

“Oh come here,” his mother said as she opened the car door and step out of the car quickly, looking a little teary-eyed.

 

Feeling a little surprised at the affection, Leckie stepped forwards and allowed his mother to hug him tightly for a moment before he broke away.

 

“I’ll be fine,” he said as lifted the trunk lid and picked up his heavy suitcase.

 

“You have your ticket?” she asked.

 

“Right here, mom,” he said as he unzipped the front pocket of his backpack to reveal a corner of his ticket to her.

 

“And you’re sure you have everything?”

 

“Well we’re going to find out pretty soon if I don’t,” he said with a slight grin.

 

“Oh come now, Linda, the boy will be fine,” his father said from his place still in the car. “He’s going to miss his flight if we stay here any longer.”

 

“Well, have a good time,” she said as he reached forwards and kissed his forehead. “Study. Call us when you’re planning on coming home or if you need anything.”

 

“Okay mom,” Leckie said with a smile and nod of his head as he readjusted his book bag strap and took a step backwards. “I’ll see ya.”

 

Leckie turned around with a final wave and headed through the doors into the air conditioned airport, hoping that the next time he saw his parents that things would be different.

 

* * *

 

“And you’re sure you have all your stuff because I’m not paying an arm and a leg to have your toothbrush sent across the country, Babe,” his mother said for probably the tenth time today as he, his father, his mother, his little brother John and his baby sister Maggie all piled into the family station wagon.

 

“Yeah I got all my stuff, Ma,” he snapped as his brother squished in next to him. “And just to let you know, if I left my toothbrush here, I’d just go out and buy another one. It’s not like toothbrushes are sold exclusively on the east coast.”

 

“Watch you attitude,” his father snapped to which Babe rolled his eyes.

 

Babe was sure Bill was dealing with a very similar scenario at his own house as his mother did her best to let go of her bouncing baby boy while his girlfriend Frannie made sure he had quadruple checked everything he had packed. Today he, Bill, Julian, and Ralph were flying to California so that they could move into their dorm rooms at Pacific Coast University. Babe was sure he would be nervous as hell if it weren’t for the fact that he was completely exasperated and pissed off at his family today. His mother woke him up at four in the morning, screaming that he was going to miss his flight, his brother borrowed his phone charger the night before without asking and he spent a half an hour searching for it while he mother bitched at him that he never completely packed when he was supposed to, his sister was crying so hard over him leaving that she made herself sick, and his father spent the last two hours yelling that they were leaving in ten minutes whether people were in the car or not.

 

It wasn’t that long of a ride from their neighborhood to the airport, but between his brother’s music blaring from his headphones, his sister sniffling and hiccupping, his dad yelling about traffic, and his mother telling him a million last minute things he should remember like what to do if a toilet gets clogged and how to change a car tire, even though he didn’t drive, and to remember to call her when he landed and when he got to the school and when he got settled in his dorm room, Babe wished that the airport could have been a little bit closer to home.

 

“What took you so long, Babe?” Bill asked some time later after Babe had said his goodbyes to his family. Bill stood outside the front of the airport smoking while he stood next to a pretty girl with brown curly hair who stood within an inch of Bill’s height. “Took any longer to get here woulda thought you tried driving there.”

 

“Oh shut up, Bill,” the girl said with a roll of her eyes. “We’ve been here for literally thirty seconds.”

 

“Thank you, Frannie,” Babe said as Bill scowled and his girlfriend grinned.

 

“Sometimes I wonder why I’ve dated you for so long,” Bill grumbled.

 

“Who else would have you?” Frannie teased and she kissed Bill on his cheek. “The real question is why I’ve dated _you_ for so long.”

 

“It’s because of my awesome body,” Bill answered.

 

“No,” she responded, deadpan, which caused Babe to crack up.

 

“Aw, shit, why did I invite you here anyhow? You just gonna rip on me…”

 

“It’s because I’m gonna miss you, idiot,” she answered in a quieter voice, looking suddenly deflated.

 

“More like miss making fun of me,” Bill amended, still scowling.

 

“Well there’s that too, I have to get my shots in while you’re still here,” she said with a nod before she wrapped her arms around Bill’s shoulders and brought her face close to his. “I’m gonna miss you.”

 

“Ugh, someone please! Put me out of my misery!” Babe shouted as the two began kissing.

 

“That’s our cue, right?”

 

Babe turned around and watched as two teenaged boys, one tall and gangly and the other shorter and squatter, jogged towards them, both weighed down with bags.

 

“You fuckers actually made it on time!”

 

“Yeah well we would have been here earlier if we didn’t have to go back for one of Julian’s bags,” Ralph Spina said with a roll of his eyes.

 

“I was not about to leave that at home,” Julian said seriously, looking gangly as ever. “They’re collectables.”

 

“They’re some dirty, old, porn mags,” Babe said in exasperation.

 

“You do realize the internet is like, ninety-two percent porn, right?” Ralph said, equally exasperated.

 

“I couldn’t leave these guys at home! They’re like my fucking security blanket,” Julian said with a pout.

 

“How about you fuckin’ grow up and upgrade,” Bill suggested as he stubbed out his cigarette against the wall of the airport.

 

“Okay can you boys stop talking about porn now? You’re going to miss your flight if you don’t get inside soon,” Frannie said.

 

“Good point,” Babe said before he leaned down and pecked a quick kiss on her cheek. “Thanks, Fran, we’ll see you for Thanksgiving.”

 

“Call me when you land,” Frannie said sternly as she looked at her boyfriend, who nodded his head before he kissed her goodbye. “Love you.”

 

“Love you too, honey.”

 

“You guys are disgusting,” Julian commented as he took a step towards the doors.

 

“No, you’re disgusting with your so-called antique porn mags.”

 

“Let’s just get going before we miss our flight,” Ralph said. “My mom will be pissed if she found out we missed the flight because we were shooting the shit out here.”

 

“Good point.”

 

The four friends turned to leave but were stopped when a woman’s voice shouted from behind them.

 

“John! Jonathon!” Babe turned his head and watched as Julian froze and winced at the voice. “Don’t think you can get away so easy from me.”

 

“Hi, mom,” Julian said through a forced smile as a middle aged woman threw her arms around his neck. “This is nice and all but I really gotta go get to my flight.”

 

“But Johnny…”

 

While Babe, Ralph, Bill, and Frannie snickered at their friend, Babe was reminded of how little they called Julian by his first name. He was John Julian by birth but ever since the second grade when two new Johns moved to the neighborhood, he decided to become Julian instead of John J. It suited him. Babe always felt weird when someone in his family called him John, just like how the others felt weird when someone called him Edward. It just wasn’t them.

 

“Excuse me, Mrs. Julian,” Frannie said kindly as she placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “The boys really do need to get to their flight.”

 

“Oh right, of course,” she said as she wiped her eyes. “Call me when you land, alright?”

 

“Yeah, Mom.”

 

“And call me tonight when you’re settled.”

 

“I got it, go.”

 

As Mrs. Julian departed, Frannie gave the boys once last kiss on the cheek before she waved at them and walked towards the parking lot.

 

“Well boys, let’s get this show on the road.”

 

* * *

 

“It ain’t gonna kill you, Shelton,” Gene Roe said in exasperation as he and Merriell Shelton walked towards the plane that would take them north to college.

 

“We don’ know that for sure, now do we,” Shelton snapped as he pouted at the ground.

 

“You know you are a lot more bark than you are bite,” Gene said with a grin.

 

“Ah, cram it, Roe,” Shelton hissed as he glared at his dark-haired companion. “I’m sure you wouldn’ be all calm and cool if we were ‘bout to get on a roller coaster.”

 

“I’m not afraid of roller coasters,” he said.

 

“Then how come I never see you ride ‘em?”

 

“They just aren’t my favorite thing is all.”

 

“Well flying ain’t my favorite thing ever,” Shelton said with a sneer. “See, different than being scared of somethin’.”

 

Gene muttered under his breath as the two climbed aboard the plane and took their seats near the middle. Both Gene and Merriell attended Pacific Coast University however Gene was returning for his second year. It was because of Gene that Merriell was going to college at all. It was Roe that planted the idea of college into his head when they were younger and it was Gene who had recommend PCU after he had been accepted there last year.  Shelton never mentioned it or even thought about it all that regularly, but he wondered were exactly he would be if he hadn’t stumbled into Gene Roe’s life years ago. He knew for sure he would be in a worse spot than he was now and he was grateful for it.

 

Shelton was broken out of his thoughts as the flight attendant came to the front and showed everyone how to properly buckle themselves in; he did his best to ignore his shaking hands and Gene’s smirk.

 

“Shut up,” he growled as he sat back in his seat and stared forwards while he gripped his arm rests.

 

“Flying’s not scary at all, Shelton,” Gene said in a gentle voice. “Just relax.”

 

“I am relaxed,” he growled through gritted teeth.

 

“Yeah, sure you are. You’re the picture of relaxation right now,” the older teen said with a snort before he reached into his pocket. “Here. Chew some gum or something.”

 

“I said I’m fucking fine,” Shelton growled as he ripped a piece of gum from Gene’s hand.

 

The engines of the plane started up, which caused Shelton to jump in his seat and clutch at the arms of his chair with a white-knuckled grip. Damn he could use a smoke… Telling himself to calm the fuck down, Shelton took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and leaned back in his seat as the plane began to take off. Hell, if the little girl in front of him could do this, so could he.

 

* * *

 

“I’m gonna miss you, Ruthie,” Skip said as he gave his little sister a tight, rib cracking hug, lifting her up slightly. “I’ll see you at Thanksgiving.”

 

“Good riddance to you,” Ruthie teased as she looked at her brother with the same hazel eyes. “We’ll all be better off with you far, far away.”

 

“Aw, you don’t mean that, do you?” Skip said as they broke away and he ran a hand through is sandy blond locks, something he did when he was nervous.

 

“Not a bit,” Ruthie said with a frown and wet eyes.

 

“Good,” Skip said before he bent down and kissed her on top of her head. He then turned to his older brother and gave him a hug.

 

“We’re gonna miss you little bro,” his older brother said.

 

“I’ll be back before you know it, E.”

 

Skip’s mother was last in the goodbyes. She wasn’t crying but she was teary and her smile twitched as she attempted to reign in her emotions. Instead of saying some big speech on how he was all grown up and leaving her, how she knew he would do great and would use what he learned at college to change the world, she just smiled and embraced him, her chin rested on his shoulder with one hand on his back, while she stroked his hair with the other. It was not a long or overemotional hug but when they broke apart, Skip was left with a slight empty feeling. His family had never been a big bunch of criers, not since their dad left them and they were all forced to toughen up some.

 

“Behave yourself and promise to call me when you land,” his mother said as she cupped his cheek with her hand. “I know how you and Alex fool around. I don’t want you getting kicked out of college because of some stupid thing you two got into.”

 

“Ah come on, mom, we’re not the dumb,” Skip said with a grin. “Me and Alex know when to draw the line.”

 

“I’ll keep that in mind when I think of how you two almost go arrested for that senior prank you two cooked up.”

 

“ _Almost,_ mom. _Almost_ got arrested. I believe that is clear proof of knowing where to draw the line.”

 

“Yes well…” she sighed as she rolled her eyes and gave Skip a light slap to his face. “You’re going to miss your flight.”

 

“Love you,” he said with a grin as he took a step backwards.

 

“Love you too,” she said.

 

“See you in a couple months,” his brother said with a wave.

 

“Bye, Skip!” Ruthie yelled, looking teary.

 

Skip gave one final wave before he turned away and started walking towards the boarding area. It only took Skip a minute for him to find his best friend, Alex Penkala, sprawled out on a plastic chair near the window. He greeted him with a flick to the ear from behind him, causing Skip to knock out one of his ear buds.

 

“Ow!” the dark haired kid yelped as he turned around and scowled at Skip. “Ya know some friends greet each other without assaulting them.”

 

“And since when have we ever been one of those kinds of friends?” he asked as he sat down across from him and rested his feet in the seat next to him. In response, Alex gave a kick to Skip’s shin, causing him to move his legs away from the seat with a smirk.

 

“Jerk,” Skip pouted as he leaned back in his seat.

 

“Bitch,” Alex said with a smile as he pulled out his other ear bud and shoved them into his pocket.

 

Sometime later, the two friends, loaded down with their carry-ons, started to head for the gate, joking and shoving each other lightly while they talked about how awesome college was going to be. They filed into their seats and waited impatiently for the plan to take off. Alex was half way through a rant about how cramp the seating was so that the airline could make more money when a guy stopped at their row, eyes shifting between the ticket in his hand and the seat numbers.

 

“Excuse me, I’m the window seat right there,” the curly-haired teenage boy said with an apologetic look on his face. Once the guy threw his bag into the overhead bin and got to his seat, he turned to look at Alex and Skip and said, “Name’s Bob Leckie.”

 

“How ya’ doing, Bob?” Penkala asked. “I’m Alex Penkala.”

 

“Hello, Alex,” he said with a nod.

 

“And I’m Skip, Skip Muck,” he said with a nod and smile.

 

“Skip?”

 

“Well that’s not my real name,” he said with a shrug. “Name’s Warren but I’ve been Skip since I was a kid. I think it suits me better anyhow.”

 

“Whatever you feel works best for you,” Leckie said with a smile. “So where are you two headed for when we get to California?”

 

“Headed to college,” Skip answered with his eyes wide and full of excitement. “You?”

 

“Well it just so happens that I’m college bound too,” he said with a smile. “Where are you going?”

 

“Pacific Coast University,” Alex answered.

 

“Kinda small place up in Northern California. Probably never heard of it?” Skip said. “And you?”

 

Leckie blinked at them for a second before a wide grin slowly grew on his face.

 

“Well I’ll be dammed,” he said quietly. “Looks like we’re gonna be classmates.”

 

“Really?”

 

“You’re going to PCU too?”

 

“Talk about coincidence,” Skip said with a shake of his head. “Let’s see how freaky this really gets: what _dorm_ are you in?”

 

“Hanks House.”

 

_“Holy shit!”_ Skip and Penkala shouted, which earned them looks from everyone in the vicinity.

 

“I take it that’s where you guys are?”

 

“This is crazy,” Skip said.

 

“Kinda cool though,” Alex said.

 

“And convenient,” Leckie added. “We can split the cab fare from the airport between three people now and spend the rest on pizza.”

 

“…I think we’re going to get along very well, Mr. Leckie,” Skip said seriously.

 

* * *

 

Carwood glanced nervously down at his boarding pass for probably the tenth time in the past minute before he glanced up again at some of the signs hanging from the ceiling. This was the first time he had ever traveled by a plane, hell, it was the first time he had ever been in an airport and damn it all, he was a little intimidated by everything.

 

“Gate C-34… C-34,” he mumbled under his breath as he did his best to avoid the people who rushed around him.

 

_“Why in the hell do we have this layover here?”_ said a sharp tone that attracted Lipton’s attention.

 

_“Because we got some weird discount if we switched flights here,”_ said another exasperated voice. _“My mom explained it to me but I don’t really know how this makes sense.”_

“ _Tell me, Ralph, how does flying_ more _save money?_ ” asked another voice.

 

_“I don’t know, Julian, my ma figured it out, ask her!”_

 

Carwood could see a group of what appeared to be four young men through the many people moving about. They looked generic enough, the only thing attention grabbing about them was the fact they yelled in distinctive Philly accents like they were standing next to a passing train. He was about to turn away from them and return for his gate search when he heard one of the boys say something else.

 

_“Gate C-34, right?”_

 

_“Should be this way.”_

 

Not knowing what else to do, Carwood turned and followed after the group of boys, figuring that they probably had a better idea of where to go than he did. Feeling intrusive, he drifted back a couple more feet, not wanting to be rude as he accidentally listened in on their conversations. Thankfully, it turned out that Carwood had lucked out with running into them because very soon they were approaching gate C-34. He was a few feet behind them when he heard one of them say the words “Pacific Coast University”, which instantly gained his attention.

 

_What a coincidence_ , Carwood thought as he adjusted his backpack and continued to follow the boys onto the plane.

 

Lipton sat a row behind and over from the boys but every now and again he couldn’t help but overhear something one of them said or notice something odd they were doing to entertain themselves. Hours later when the plane landed and they all disembarked and went their separate ways, Carwood wondered if he would ever see those boys again while they were at the same college.

 

Little did he know but he would be seeing a lot of all four of those boys for a long time.

 

* * *

 

“Where the fuck am I?” George asked himself as he stopped in the middle of the quad, feeling more confused than he had in a while.

 

It was move in day at Pacific Coast Academy. Two hours ago he had still been on the plane that took him from one side of the country to the other and now he was standing in the middle of the quad, arms laden down with luggage and useless shit he probably should have left at home, not knowing where the fuck he needed to go. Well, he knew he had to get to Hanks House, his new home for the school year, but what he didn’t know was how the hell to get there in the first place. He had a map in one hand that he was currently trying to decode, but he had never been good with directions and he flunked out of boy scouts because he couldn’t read a map or use a compass.

 

“I am so fucked,” he sighed as he thought of how in a couple of days he would be expected to know the campus like the back of his hand so that he could get to all of his classes on time.

 

“Aren’t we all,” said a loud voice from behind him as someone slapped him on the back.

 

George turned his head and found a skinny guy wearing a ridiculous pair of sunglasses standing behind him. The guy was grinning from ear to ear and held a half-drunk energy drink in his one hand.

 

“Uh yeah,” George muttered when the stranger didn’t turn away from him.

 

“You look fucking lost bro,” the guy said quickly before he took a gulp of his drink. “Like more lost than everyone fucking else here, since you’ve pulled out a god damn map.”

 

“I am kind of lost,” he admitted with a shrug as he adjusted his heavy as fuck backpack. “Looking for Hanks House. Wouldn’t know where to find it, would you?”

 

“No fucking way,” the guy said as he lifted his sunglasses and looked at George with wide eyes. “That’s my fucking dorm.”

 

“Yeah, I’ll take you right to it my man.”

 

“Thanks,” he said with a grin and small laugh, grateful that he was lucky enough to have found someone to help him. “Name’s George by the way. George Luz.”

 

“Well Georgie, I’m your new pal Ray-Ray,” he said with a slight spring in his step as they started walking down the sidewalk together. “Happy to help a wandering soul and shit.”

 

“Uh, what floor you live on, _Ray-Ray_ ,” George asked with a grin, feeling up to joking around with the guy; Luz wasn’t sure if this guy was on drugs or just goofy as fuck, but as long as he got to his destination unharmed, he really didn’t care.

 

“I’ve been thrown onto the third floor,” he answered with a nod. “Room 301. You?”

 

“Fifth floor. Room 511,” George answers.

 

“Nice digs,” Ray said with a nod as they turned a corner. He points towards the brick building in front of them. “That my friend is Hanks House, our new home away from home.”

 

“Thanks, if it weren’t for you who knows what I would have had to do to find this place.”

 

“It ain’t no thang,” Ray said with a shrug and a cocky smile. “But dude, we should totally chill later. I gotta run, but like, I’ll see you later.”

 

“Alright, man,” Luz said with a wide grin and a nod as Ray downs the rest of his energy drink. “Go easy on the caffeine.”

 

“Ah this is nothing. I once stayed up for four days straight in high school thanks to caffeine,” Ray said with a laugh. “My friends didn’t think I could make it to three so I got sixty bucks out of it, suckers.”

 

“Well if you do that this year I’ll make sure not to bet against you. We could both make some money out of it.”

 

“Dude, that’s _brilliant_ ,” Ray exclaimed in a hushed voice before he checked the time on his cell phone and tossed the now empty can over his shoulder. “Ahh, I gotta get going, but I’ll come stop by your place later.”

 

George watched with a grin as the hyped-up teen turned and took off running in the opposite direction. Grinning and shaking his head slightly, Luz adjusted his hold on his backpack and quickened his pace, eager to get to his new home away from home.

 

 

“Name?” the girl at the front desk asked, looking annoyed and harassed.

 

“Uh, Eugene Sledge, miss,” Eugene answered while he tried not to get swept away by all the people milling about the area as they shouted and shoved and threw stuff to one another; it was like a mad-house.

 

“And Sidney Phillips,” Sid chimes in next to him with his toothy grin. “We’re in the same room.”

 

“Hmm, sure,” the girl said, clearly nowhere in the mood to be saddled with all these people. She flipped through the list for a moment before she nodded and crossed two lines off of the list. “Eugene Sledge, Sidney Phillips, room 506.” She pulled out two identical golden keys and handed one to each boy before she turned to the people behind the two friends. “Next!”

 

Sid and Eugene moved away from the desk so that they wouldn’t be smashed by other eager new students and made their way to the elevators, both grinning from ear to ear as they clutched their keys. When the elevator doors opened on the fifth floor, the watched as several young men ran in and out of dorms and maneuvered around the copious amounts of baggage that littered the hallway.  As they passed by open doors, they peered inside the dorm rooms for a moment and watched as some guys argued with their roommates on the décor of their room _(“No, Harry, I’m sorry but we are not hanging up a Jose Cuervo poster. I’m the R.A. and we aren’t even old enough to drink…”),_ said goodbye to their parents and younger siblings _(“Marilyn, say goodbye to Don, I don’t care if you don’t want to, just do it please. We have to be back on the road in a half an hour…”_ ), and tore through their belongings as they realized they had left some prized possession back home _(“Where the hell are my brass knuckles?!”)._

 

“What room are we again?” Sid asked as he peered at a couple closed doors.

 

“Five-oh-six,” Eugene answered as he glanced at the door in front of him; five-oh-five.

 

“Well then we are right here,” Sid said as he turned around and quickly unlocked the door in front of him.

 

Inside held two twin beds with drawers underneath the mattresses, two desks, a closet, and a slightly grimy window. It wasn’t the peak of perfection but it wasn’t half bad either; it was just what Eugene needed to start the next chapter of his life. Grinning as he stepped inside, he slapped Sidney on the back, and tossed his backpack onto one of the bare beds.

 

“Who said you could have that bed?” Sidney asked as he dropped one of his bags onto the floor.

 

“Well I don’t see your name on it.”

 

“I don’t see yours either,” he said quietly as if it were a challenge.

 

“Sid, come on, we’re adults here,” Eugene said as he took a step backwards with his hands up in defense; he recognized that look in his friends eye and he was not going to have it. “Are we really gonna do this?”

 

“What, you chicken?” he asked with a grin as he inched forwards. “Don’t think you can handle me?”

 

“Oh I know I can handle you,” he responded confidently.

 

“Well then why don’t you put your money were you mouth is,” Sid said before he lunged forwards and put his friend into a headlock.

 

“Hey!”

 

“You want that bed you’re gonna have to fight me for it!”

 

“You asked for it, you old greaser!” Eugene yelled before he managed to pull Sid down to the ground where they continued to wrestle about.

 

So maybe this wasn’t the way Eugene expected his first moment of college to go, acting like children as he wrestled on the floor for the rights to a bed, but hey, he would take it.

 

* * *

 

 

It had taken Lewis a little longer than expected for him to cross the country in his car, but after a couple bumps along the road, he had finally made it to PCU all the way in California. He had had a couple upsets throughout his travel, a handful of almost accidents, a couple times when he barely made it to the gas station, and several times when he had gotten lost in the middle of the night, but his biggest unexpected challenged definitely happened in Lancaster with Dick.

 

Ever since he kissed that red-haired stranger, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. They hadn’t exchanged phone numbers during their talk, but whenever Lewis stopped somewhere with wifi, he tended to stalk Dick’s facebook page for a moment or two while he hovered over the friend request button. He never had the courage to hit the button and unfortunately most of Dick’s page was blocked but Lew was able to look at his profile picture. He realized he probably was crossing the line that separated curious from creeper but he really didn’t care. Nixon had a bigger problem on his hands.

 

He felt like he was in fucking love with the guy.

 

He felt incredibly ridiculous for thinking it but it was true. Lewis had talked to the guy for two hours and probably could have sat there talking with him for another four without there ever being silence. When he kissed Dick, his whole body felt like he had been hit by Zeus himself and it only intensified when Dick kissed him back. He had been on the road for a couple days by himself, on route to a new college and a new life, and all he could think about was the red-headed bastard who bought him a slice of pie and helped him without a second thought.

 

Now Lewis sat alone in his new dorm room, his roommate having disappeared a moment after he had arrived, while he stared once again at Dick’s profile on his phone.

 

_Just fucking do it,_ he told himself _. He told you to stop by again if you were around so clearly you can be fucking facebook friends with him._

 

Nix had thought about driving back that way during the holidays, even if he wasn’t going home he could always pretend like he was so that it wouldn’t seem so absolutely fucking weird that he was driving across to country to talk and possibly hook up with a guy.

 

_But what if I don’t just wanna hook up,_ he thought miserably, his heart floundering as he remember the kiss and Dick’s smile and his blush. _What if I want something more…_

 

“Ah, fuck it,” Nix said loudly to himself before he pressed down on that stupid little button on the profile. He then logged out of Facebook, turned off his phone, and tossed it to the other side of the room, desperate not to run and delete the request before Dick saw. “Just be a fucking man, Nixon, god damn.”

 

Feeling shaky, he reached into the side pocket of his backpack and took a good, long pull of the burning alcohol inside. If every day was going to be as stressful as these last few days, Lewis knew he would have to find someone to replenish his alcohol soon with the way he’d been burning through it.

 

Hoping to get his mind off of his somewhat daring move, Lewis dove into unpacking and setting up. Halfway through unpacking his crumpled and wrinkled clothing, there was a knock on his door. Sighing, Lew got up from his spot on the floor.

 

“Can I help…” Lewis began as he opened the door but his voice quickly died when he saw who was standing in front of him, feeling as if he had seen a ghost. “…you…?”

 

Standing right in front of him, looking just like he did a couple days previous, was none other than Dick Winters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and comments are appreciated


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are getting to know each other more and there's some cute shit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to everyone who read last chapter, thanks :) I'm leaving for college in a couple hours so maybe this story will become a bit more accurate now that i'll be experiencing the same thing. Hopefully I'll still be able to write while in college but who knows. So if I go on a bit of a hiatus soon, I'm sorry, blame my college

* * *

Carwood was half-way through unpacking his clothes when a gentle knock sounded on the door. He looked up from his place on the floor and found a teenage boy, thin and on the shorter side with sandy hair, standing in the doorway with several bags under his arms.

 

“Hi,” Lipton said pleasantly as he stopped what he was doing. “I guess you’re my roommate?”

 

“That’s right,” the guy said as he nodded his head and set his bags on top of the unoccupied bed.

 

“Name’s Carwood Lipton,” he said as he extended his hand, which the other took with a slight smile.

 

“Name’s Jay, Jay De L'Eau,” Jay said. “Capital D, small E, capital L, apostrophe, capital E, small A, small U, De L’Eau.”

 

For a moment, Carwood stared while he let his new roommate’s odd introduction sink in before he nodded good naturally and said, “Good to know. If you need to know how to spell my name just Google tea brands online.”

 

Jay cracked a smile before he nodded and walked to his side of the room and Lipton returned to his own unpacking.

 

“So do you introduce yourself to everyone like that?”

 

* * *

 

“Christ, Julian, we’ve had this room for ten minutes and it already looks like a dump,” Babe commented as he walked into their dorm room after a quick trip to one of the two bathrooms on the floor.

 

“I’m unpacking, give me an hour and I’ll have this place looking good as new,” Julian said, his voice slightly muffled due to the roll of tape he held in his mouth. He was currently in the middle of taping yet another poster to his side of the room; he already had half of the wall covered in movie posters, pictures of cars, and a pinup or two. “What are ya, my ma?”

 

“Are you seriously gonna cover the entire room with this shit?” Babe asked in exasperation as he kicked a couple of rolled up posters on his way to his half-made bed; Babe knew that by the end of the night, every inch of his side of the room would be covered. He had spent several hours and even days locked up in Julian’s room back in Philly but for the life of him he couldn’t tell someone what color his room was.

 

“Well I was just gonna cover my half but if you’re gonna let me cover yours too-”

 

“No. Keep your shit on your side of the room and if a single inch of that tackiness comes over here I’m gonna beat your scrawny ass all the way back to Philly.”

 

“No need to overreact, princess,” Julian muttered as he bent down the grab another poster, which happened to be another scantily clad pin up; Babe turned his head away as his friend started taping it up.

 

“Hey! What are you fuckers up to?”

 

Babe and Julian turned towards the door, where Bill stood, grinning. There was another guy behind him, dark hair and eyes and a slight frown.

 

“What’s up, Bill?” Babe asked.

 

“Who’s the new guy?” Julian asked as he returned to taping up his posters.

 

“This is Joe, my roommate. He’s in the Army Reserve too,” Bill said before he motioned to his two friends. “These two idiots are Julian and Babe. I would say they’re harmless except they’re such fucking idiots they tend to accidently injure themselves and the people around them on a regular basis.”

 

“Uh, excuse the fuck out of me but whose idiot ass fell down the stairs Junior year and took out half the baseball team out for three weeks?” Babe snapped.

“Yeah but who was the jackass who pushed me because he was flailing around like an idiot on top of the stairs?” Bill countered. “Doesn’t count cus I was a dumbass by proxy. That one’s on you.”

 

“Oh what the fuck ever, Bill,” the red-head growled. “Did you just come in here so you could bust our balls in front of Joe here?”

 

“Only partially. Turns out there’s a dorm meeting downstairs in ten minutes and we all gotta go to it,” he said. “Figured I would round up all you salty bastards so you wouldn’t get lost on your way down.”

 

“One day you’re going to have to cut the cord,” Julian said from where he stood on his bed.

 

“Oh what the fuck ever,” he scowled with a wave of the hand.

 

“You do seem to be a mother hen to them,” Joe chimed in, seeming mildly amused at the scene in front of him.

 

“I can’t help it. I’ve know them since birth. They’re like little brothers to me,” Bill said to Joe, as if he had no choice but to watch over them as if they were newborns.

 

“Two weeks, you little shit,” Babe said with a roll of his eyes; for as long as he could remember, Bill always acted as if those two extra weeks of life made him so much worldlier and mature than Babe. It pissed him off.

 

“… I’m like 5 weeks older than you,” Julian said after a pause, looking a little confused.

 

“Yeah well you act like you’re fucking five years younger than me so maybe when you finally decide to act like an adult maybe I’ll treat you like one.”

 

“Are you three done bickering?” Joe asked as Julian opened his mouth to retaliate. “As entertaining as you all are, I think maybe we should get a move on.”

 

“Christ, finally someone around here who makes sense,” Babe said as he got off of his bed and walked towards the door.

 

“Well usually the voice of reason is Spina,” Bill said as he followed after Babe.

 

The group walked two doors down to room five-oh-five, where the door was half open and two calm voices drifted out of the room.

 

“Spina!” Babe yelled out in warning as he knocked on the door before he pushed it the rest of the way open.

 

Inside, Spina sat on his bed while a pale, dark-haired, blue-eyed guy, who was clearly his roommate, sat on the opposite bed. While Julian was hell bent on covering his wall space, neither Ralph nor his roommate put up a single poster. Except for their bedspreads, the room looked almost untouched.

 

“What’s up guys?” Spina asked

 

“Apparently there’s a dorm meeting or something down stairs soon,” Julian said as he rested an elbow on top of Spina’s head and leaned against him, much to his annoyance; in retaliation Ralph hit the taller teen in the gut.

 

“Figured we’d pick you up and drag you and your roommate down with us.”

 

“Oh um, guys, this is Gene,” Ralph said as he motioned to the guy, who merely raised a silent hand in response. “He’s pre-med too, but he’s a sophomore.”

 

“Sophomore, really? Thought this was mainly a freshmen dorm. What’d you get the short end of the stick or something?”

 

“Nah, I got a friend startin’ out here this year,” he answered in weird southern twang. “Thought it best if I kept an eye on him. He’s on this floor, couple rooms down.”

 

“Well let’s go get this friend of yours and take him to the meeting,” Babe said.

 

“Probably best,” Gene said as he got up from his bed. “He’s not gonna go unless someone drags him by his ear.”

 

Together they walked down to the end of the hall until they reached room 510, where Gene knocked on the closed door. When there was no answer, Gene knocked again before he raised his voice above the soft tones he used earlier.

 

“Shelton! I know you’re in there! Open up.”

 

“The door ain’t fucking locked, Gene,” said a muffled, rough voice from inside.

 

Shaking his head slightly, Gene opened the door to reveal two boys. One was standing as he shoved his belongings away without regard for how they wrinkled. He was on the scrawny side with a thin face with brown hair and brown eyes. There was a scowl on his face, as if unpacking was the most tedious thing on the planet, but then again, Babe thought, maybe it was. On the other bed sat a tan boy with dark, unruly curls and pale eyes that held a kind of blank expression as he stared out the window, his bags still sat on the floor, untouched.

 

“Shelton, get your butt up and downstairs,” Gene said firmly with a slight tone of exasperation. “There’s a meeting.”

 

“I’ll pass,” Shelton said as he leaned back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling fan.

 

“No you won’t,” he said in a firmer voice as he reached out and gripped onto Shelton’s shoulder.

 

“What’s this guy your personal babysitter or something?” the guy across the room sneered as he looked at the group over his shoulder.

 

“Might as well be,” Gene said. “’cept I don’t get paid nearly enough.”

 

“Oh shove it,” Shelton growled with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “No one’s askin’ you to do it.”

 

“Yeah well I’ve done it for so long now it seems stupid to stop.”

 

Shelton flicked his eyes towards Gene with a look of annoyance before he let out a sigh and got up off of the bed. As he took a slow step towards the door, he turned to his roommate, who has started to watch their interaction with mild interest.

 

“You coming to this piece of shit or what?”

 

“Might as well,” the guy muttered before he followed them out of the room and towards the stair well.

 

* * *

 

“Alright so, first off, hello everyone,” said a tall, thin, red-haired man. “And welcome to Pacific Coast University.”

 

Muck scanned the tightly packed common room on the first floor for a moment, noticing that there were definitely more guys than girls in attendance, before he returned his attention back to the four people standing at the front of the room; there were three guys and one girl. There was the guy who had just spoken, a shorter guy with curly dirty-blond hair, a guy who appeared to be a Nordic god with a tall, muscular build and icy blue eyes, and a somewhat strict looking girl with curly brown hair and brown eyes.

 

“Now for anyone who doesn’t know, the four of us are going to be the residential advisors for Hanks House,” he continued. “My name’s Dick Winters and I’ll be the R.A. for the fifth floor.”

 

“I’m Andrew Haldane, fourth floor,” the shorter man answered after a slight pause as he made a motion with his hand.

 

“Brad Colbert,” said the tall, muscular one in a flat but strong tone, “third floor.”

 

“Lena Riggi,” the young woman said with a hint of a smile. “Second floor R.A.”

 

“And as I’m sure you’ve all noticed, there are more male students in this dorm than female students,” Dick continued. Someone in the crowd muttered ‘sausage fest’ and caused a couple people to giggle childishly; Dick continued after the last few chuckles died away. “But for whatever reason, one of the girl floors was turned into another guys floor so unlike other years, floors three, four, and five will be men’s and the second floor will be devoted to girls.”

 

“And if you are a boy on the second or a girl on any other floor, it would be best if you came to us now and told us before we get in trouble with the dean,” Lena said with her half-grin.

 

“Quiet hours for the floors are from eleven to six during the week and one to seven on the weekends,” Brad continued. “That means that you will be allowed to socialize within the dorm but you must do it in a quiet fashion. Some people might actually like to get some sleep from time to time.”

 

“The common area here will be open at all hours,” Andrew said as he gestured to the pool tables, televisions, and other pieces of entertainment. “And for those who didn’t know, there is also a fully equipped kitchen and a laundry facility in the back. If you don’t know how to do your own laundry, now would be a good time to learn how.”

 

“Visitors will be able to enter the building during the day but during the quiet hours they will not be allowed to enter the building,” Lena added. “You school I.D. allows you to swipe into your own dorm building at any time of day however.”

 

“Also, guests are allowed but it’s best if you talk it over with your roommate first before you let someone stay over,” Dick said.

 

“If there are any problems on the floor or any problems at all and you need to talk to someone, that what us R.A.’s are for,” Brad said. “Don’t be afraid to ask.”

 

“Now who would be afraid to ask the Nordic god for help?” Someone hissed in a carrying tone from behind Skip. He was able to make out a scrawny kid with a huge grin and even bigger sunglasses chuckling quietly. Skip glanced back to the front and was able to catch Brad glaring at the guy.

 

“So, if anyone has any questions now would be a good time to ask,” Dick said before anything happened between Brad and the grinning guy.

 

There were a couple hands and after a few more minutes, all of the questions were answered and everyone was free to enjoy the party the R.A.’s had set up. It wasn’t much, just a bunch of pizza and chips and drinks while music filtered in from someone’s iPod they had hooked up to the speakers, but it was good enough. While most of the students ran to the food and grabbed a drink, Lewis Nixon stayed in his spot near the back of the room. He waited until the other R.A.’s had dispersed, leaving Dick by himself.

 

“Hey,” Lewis said as he stood behind the tall red-head, feeling nervous.

 

Dick turned around and looked down at him, looking a little started but smiled politely at Nixon anyhow.

 

“Hey yourself,” Dick said quietly after a slight pause.

 

“Do you think we can… talk or something?” Nix muttered, feeling stupid for the words coming out his mouth.

 

He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, motioning towards the door that led outside. Dick glanced over his shoulder and looked around the party for a moment before he nodded and followed Lewis outside into the muggy air. The two walked quietly for a few moments until they reached a set of benches on the other side of the sidewalk from the dorm. It was semi-secluded with tall bushes growing all around it with little artificial light.  Neither man spoke for a while as the both stared in front of them.

 

Nixon’s mind flashed back to what had happened only about an hour ago. Dick had knocked on his door and both men had been struck dumb. After a moment of gaping, Lewis slammed the door in Dick’s face, an action that he had been oh-so proud of a moment later.

 

Nix remembered how he had collapsed on his bed while he tried to remember in the hours he spent talking to Dick if either one of them had ever mentioned what college they were going to. Thinking back, Lewis wasn’t sure if he had even really explained why he was traveling to California in the first place.

 

All Nixon knew was that if Dick was going to be his R.A. this year and was going to be living in the room across the hall from him, they should probably at least try to talk about what had happened between them.

 

“So, quite the coincidence,” Dick spoke up after the silence had stretched on for too long. “Us both going to school here.”

 

“Rooming right fucking next door to each other too,” Lewis added while he felt the tiniest of grins come to his lips.

 

“Yeah,” he said with a soft smile as he looked at Lewis out of the corner of his eye.

 

The two men smiled gently at each other for a second before they turned away, falling back into an awkward silence.

 

“So what’s gonna happen now?” Nix asked.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I mean we fucking…” Lewis grumbled as he tried to find the correct words. “Did you really want to kiss me back or did you just do it not to be rude? Because I get it. You’re clearly a polite, stand-up citizen, and I mean if you just kissed me back because you didn’t want to hurt my feelings, it’s okay. I get it. We can still be friends or dorm-mates or whatever. I just wanted… “

 

Lewis cut himself off before he said anything detrimentally embarrassing to Dick. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously before he shook his head and jumped up from the bench as if he’d been electrocuted.

 

“You know what? Never mind. Just forget that ever happened,” Lewis said as he took a couple steps towards the dorm. “We’re cool, right? Well I’ll be seeing you, Dick-”

 

“Wait!” Dick yelled as he got up from his seat and ran after Lewis. He gripped onto the man’s arm and stopped him from moving anymore. “Can you just wait a second?”

 

Lewis turned around to face Dick while he wore a particularly pained expression. His heart felt like it was jackhammering against his ribs and all he could think about was how whenever he made the first move, he always ended up being wrong and getting hurt and embarrassed. He wanted to break out of his Dick’s grip and maybe head over to the student housing office to see if he could be transferred somewhere else. He didn’t though; Dick was a nice guy and that meant that Lewis had to at least attempt to play nice.

 

“You didn’t even give me a chance to answer your questions,” he said gently.

 

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me,” Lewis rushed, avoiding eye contact with Dick.

 

“No, I think I do,” he said in a sterner tone that made Nixon squirm.

 

“Dick-”

 

Lewis’s cry was cut off sharply by Dick pressing his lips chastely to his. It wasn’t much but it was enough to shut the dark-haired man up. Dick broke away from Nix but tilted his head so that their foreheads rested against each other. Lewis stared up at him with wide eyes while Dick grinned down at him.

 

“Did I really wanna kiss you back there or was I just being polite?” Dick asked with a tiny tilt to his head. “Lew, if I didn’t want to kiss you back, I wouldn’t have. I kissed you back because I felt like we had some great chemistry going on that night and I find you very attractive, not to mention interesting and fun to talk to.”

 

Nixon wasn’t quite sure why but Dick’s words were making him blush bright red. He looked down at the ground, feeling uneasy, as if he couldn’t quite believe the words that were coming out of his mouth.

 

“Do you really mean that?” Nix asked quietly.

 

In response, Dick gently gripped Lew’s chin, tilted it back up, and kissed him softly. Dark eyes met warm brown ones and it felt as if the world had stopped.

 

“Yes.”

 

Nixon blinked for a moment before he let the word sink into his numb brain. A wide grin stretched across his face before he lunged forwards and kissed Dick, who almost fell to the ground due to the force of the kiss.

 

“So I guess it’s safe to say,” Dick said as he managed to break away from Nixon for a moment, “that the feelings are mutual here?”

 

“I don’t know,” Lewis whispered as he pressed his face into the side of Dick’s neck and nuzzled him. “You tell me.”

 

* * *

 

_To help bond with your roommate for the year,_

_try exchanging some basic information and family background. For instance:_

-          _Describe your family (ex: siblings, parents, pets…)_

-          _Where you are from (state, city…)_

-          _What you did in High School (extra-curricular, classes…)_

-          _What do you do for fun_

-          _Why you decided to attend Pacific Coast University_

-          _What’s your major_

 

Webster stared at the piece of paper in his hand while he sat on his bed alone. His roommate was still downstairs at the dorm party that was still going on. David had cut out early, not really feeing up to forcing a bunch of conversation with people. The last time he had seen his roommate, a tall guy with brown, curly hair, he had been chatting it up with a couple of guys who David thought were from another floor.

 

The common room had been too crowded and noisy for David. What with one hundred people crammed into the space while music played, the television ran, and people talked and yelled and laughed and played pool and air hockey. It was a little more than David was able to handle at the moment. He was still transitioning from one life to another.

 

In his old life, a party would have been a much quieter affair than what was going on downstairs. Fellow students from his prep school relaxing in his den or someone else’s house while they talked quietly about things like politics and school and their futures, or to put it more accurately, the futures their respective parents were forcing down onto them all. Well, he guessed that some of his classmates were being forced into their parent’s future of choice while others were willing to follow their parents’ choices.

 

David, well, he always told his parents that he was going to do as he was told. He would go to Harvard; he would get into law school because his father knew a bunch of people who could pull stings even if he couldn’t get into it. He’d become a big, successful lawyer and marry a nice, upper class girl and they’d have two or three kids and he would help to take care of his aging parents with his fat lawyer paycheck.

 

Whenever his parents kept making major decisions for him, he would grin and bear it, tell himself that they were right, that they knew best, that whatever strange things he was feeling would go away eventually and that one day he would be normal and his parents would be proud of him. He told himself that when his parents decided what high school he would attend, what courses he would take, and what extra-curricular activities he would join, all without asking his opinion. He told himself this when he took a pre-law summer course instead of going on a trip to California with some friends. He told himself this repeatedly when he found himself oddly drawn to a handsome guy in his freshmen English class.

 

Unfortunately, David found out rather recently that he had it all wrong. He couldn’t just force himself to be the perfect son his parents had spent eighteen years of hard work on. That wasn’t who he was. He wasn’t anything his parents wanted at all.

 

“Hey.”

 

David looked up and watched as his roommate walked into their room. Webster forced himself to smile politely at the guy as he crossed the room and sat down across from him on his own bed.

 

“Why’d you leave the party so early?” Robert Leckie asked him. “It was actually pretty decent. Met some cool guys from the floor below us. And even though there are slim pickings in this dorm when it comes to the ladies, there are still some nice ones who are very willing to chat.”

 

Webster didn’t know why but Leckie’s words made him grin slightly; maybe he was happy that someone was fucking happy or maybe he was just losing it.

 

“Hey, I could help hook you up with one of those girls if you wanted,” Leckie offered as he stretched back against the wall.

 

“Um, no thanks, I’m good actually,” David said and this time he smiled he actually got why he did it.

 

“So why’d you run up here and hide?” Leckie asked as he got off of his bed and crossed to the mini fridge and pulled out a drink.

 

“Not really my thing, parties,” David admitted. “At least not those kind of parties.”

 

“And what is your kind of party, Webster?” Leckie asked.

 

“Uh… I actually don’t know if I’m much of the partying type,” he muttered as he scratched the back of his head. “The parties back home were more like study sessions with guys from my prep school and those weren’t really my kind of thing either.”

 

“Prep school, huh? Sounds fancy.”

 

“I guess. It was a pain in the ass really. More of my family’s choice to send me to a big, fancy private school,” Webster said. “What about you? Where’d you go to school?”

 

“Ah, nowhere fancy or special or private,” Leckie said with a shrug. “Just another generic high school in Rutherford, New Jersey. Where are you from?”

 

“Bronxville, New York,” David answered. “It’s fifteen minutes away from Manhattan.”

 

“Big Apple’s, what, half an hour drive away from Rutherford, right?” Leckie asked.

 

“Yeah.”

 

A lull started to form and before the awkwardness could start to form, David glanced down at the now crinkled piece of paper in his hand, hoping to land on a topic that would fit.

 

“So what was is like? Growing up in Rutherford I mean.”

 

“Eh, small town, generic stores and diners and people,” Leckie shrugged. “Nothing spectacular, probably nothing compared to living right next to Manhattan, but it was decent. How about New York? I bet that was more exciting.”

 

“I suppose so but I mostly stayed in Bronxville, suburb filled with a bunch of rich stuck-ups,” Web admitted. “My parents wanted me focused on my studies though, so I didn’t really go out and do the whole ‘crazy teenager takes on the Big Apple’ thing. They were more focused on my future than I was to be completely honest.”

 

“Sounds like a shitty situation if you ask me,” Leckie said. “My parents never gave two shits about what I did with my future and I seem to be doing just fine.”

 

“Yeah well, my parents had a plan worked out for me the second I was born, maybe even before that,” David continued quietly. “Same thing with my younger brother and sister. They’re the kind of people who were raised to think to that the only reason people had kids was so that there was someone to take care of them when they were old. I had their plan forced into my head for as long as I remember: go to school, get into Harvard, become a big, successful lawyer, marry some rich girl, give them some grandkids, make sure they get properly taken care of when they start to go senile.”

 

“Geez and I thought my family was bad,” Leckie snorted after a slight pause.

 

“Why? What’s your family like?”

 

“Well, I’m the youngest with five older sisters and a brother, so by the time I came around, my parents were too damn tired to care what I did. Never talked to me about college, never really took interest in what I was doing in high school… hell, the last time they probably cared about what I was doing was when I was nine playing little league with my brother…”

 

If Webster noticed the way Leckie’s voice hitched slightly at the end of his sentence, he didn’t say anything. Leckie turned away and a stared out the window while he thought of a time not too long ago, where his parents gave a shit what was going on in his life, where they smiled and laughed, acted like normal human beings.

 

Leckie shook his head in an attempt to break out of his depressing thoughts about how his family used to be. He couldn’t dwell on it now, couldn’t let out the whole fucked up story now, not to this kid he just met and would be rooming with for the next nine months. He let out a deep breath and ran a hand through his curly hair.

 

“So, you mentioned Harvard,” Leckie stated, which made Webster looked confused. “In your parent’s big plan for you. You mentioned they wanted you to go to Harvard and become a lawyer. Now this place is nice and all but it’s no Harvard.”

 

“Oh _, that_ ,” Webster said with a pained smile and a nod. “Well, I sort of realized that I didn’t want to follow my parents plan anymore. Told them what I wanted.”

 

“I’m sure they took that news well,” he said with a grin because Leckie already had a decent picture of this kid’s parents and knew they would not have been okay with this.

 

“It went swimmingly,” David said bitterly as he stared at the floor.

 

David’s vision clouded as he thought of his brother screaming, calling him horrible, hurtful things, while his father shouted that David was throwing everything they had worked for away and didn’t he realize this was a fucking phase and that he could get help if that was what he really needed because no way was he going to have a faggot as a son and who would hire him anyway when they found out he liked men, and how his mother refused to listen while she forced his baby sister upstairs with tears running down her face because she didn’t understand why everyone was screaming and fighting.

 

David brought his hands to his eyes and rubbed them furiously when he felt the pressure of tears but no way in hell was he going to break down in front of his new roommate one day into their relationship.

 

“Sorry,” David mumbled. “I’m still trying to get over it all. It was rough.”

 

“It’s okay,” Leckie said as he got up from his seat on his bed and walked over to the pile of books that lay on his desk. He picked on up at random before he flopped back down on his bed. “Do what you gotta do to feel better.”

 

David watched as Leckie flipped open the book to the beginning and began reading. He tilted his head so that he could take in the title, _The Giver_. He hadn’t heard of it before but he was curious; how many teenaged boys willingly read books anymore?

 

“What’s the book about?” David asked.

 

“This? I’m not sure. Just started reading it,” Leckie said with a shrug. “But I found it at the Half-Priced Books by my house a little before I left for school. It seemed interesting and was only a buck, so I figured why not?”

 

“Do you read often?”

 

Leckie grinned as he glanced at his desk, most of which was covered in his collection of beloved paperbacks, some of them worn with use, some new, and some bought second-hand. He watched as Webster followed his gaze and smiled sheepishly.

 

“Yeah, I guess you could say I read often. You?

 

“Yeah. Love to read. Unfortunately, most of my books got left back home and…”

 

 _And I doubt I’ll ever get a chance to see those ever again,_ he thought sadly.

 

“What do you read?” Leckie asked as he sat his book down on his chest.

 

David let a smile grow on his face, feeling better than he had in a long time. He had a feeling that he and this Bob Leckie were going to get along rather well this year.

 

* * *

 

George Luz stared around the bustling common room as his fellow students watched the television, played games, ate, and socialized more than they had probably ever done in their lives before. Luz sat on one of the couches against the walls while he watched the scene with mild curiosity. Everything looked fun and interesting, but it could always be better.

 

“Hey, George.”

 

Luz looked up as his roommate, Frank Perconte, sat down next to him and handed him a cup of soda.

 

“Thanks, Perco.”

 

“What are you doing? People watching or something?” the short teen asked before he took a sip of his own drink. “Because I had a neighbor who claimed to do that and then he got a restraining order for stalking and I can put up with a lot of shit man, but I don’t know if I can have you as a roommate if you go to that level.”

 

“Oh shut up, Frank,” he muttered before he shrugged and motioned to the crowd with his cup. “This crowd needs more fun is all. It’s not lively enough in here.”

 

“What the hell are you talking about? This is like, a real party in here. You got music and games and food and people talking, what else do you need?”

 

George turned to Frank and thought back to every birthday party, every family cookout, every block party and school function he had been forced to attend over the years. With the image of his nine younger siblings running around screaming, cousins tossing food at each other, and just the general shenanigans that ensued whenever he was involved he said, “Chaos. This place needs chaos.”

 

“And what the hell does that mean?” Frank asked hesitantly as he stared at him with wide brown eyes.

 

George didn’t say anything. Instead, he grinned widely and chugged the rest of his drink back before he slapped his thighs and got up from his seat.

 

“Showtime,” he hissed to his new friend.

 

“Hey, wait! George!”

 

George sped across the room until he reached the center and proceeded to climb on top of one of the more stable looking tables; he knocked a couple of half-full drinks to the floor and he was pretty sure he had cheese on the bottom of his shoe but he didn’t care at the moment.

 

“Hey everyone listen up!” George yelled. Most the of the room quieted down almost immediately at the sight of short and bright-eyed George standing on the table. He ignored the disapproving looks that came from Brad, the third floor R.A., and instead focused on Ray, the skinny guy who helped him find the dorm earlier, who was now smiling and nodding approvingly. “So this is a great meet and greet we got going on but I think we can up the ante just a little bit!” George waited for his dramatic pause to settle in before he said in hushed voice, “Let’s play Twister.”

 

* * *

 

“Eugene! Come on, you gotta play at least one round!” Sidney yelled as he gripped onto his best friends arm; the grin on his face was a mile wide and Eugene couldn’t help but smile.

 

“No, Sid, I’m good actually,” he said to his friend firmly as he stared at the Twister mat some kid from his floor had pulled out of who knows where.

 

“You sure?” Sid asked as his grin started to deflate. “I mean I know Twister looks like a work out but it’s not that hard. Even you can do it.”

 

“As tempting as it looks, I think I’m going to go outside for some air,” Eugene said as he gestured over his shoulder towards the door.

 

It was getting a little warm in the common room and if it was noisy before, the addition of the Twister mat had only made the volume of the room increase ten-fold. He needed some cool air and some peace and quiet, even if only for a couple of minutes.

 

Sidney took a step closer to his friend and leaned in so that he could whisper close to Eugene’s ear. The concern on his face was clear and, feeling exasperated, Eugene knew what was going to come out of his best friend’s mouth next.

 

“You feeling alright, Eugene?”

 

“Yes, Sid, I’m feeling just fine,” he said firmly as he looked him in the eye. “I promise you. I just really need a moment of peace.”

 

“Well, okay then,” Sidney said as he took a step back. He then reached out and slapped him on the shoulder, grinning once again. “But when you come back, you’re up next.”

 

“Yeah, sure, Sid,” he said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes and a grin before he backed away from the twisted mass of college students and walked towards the door.

 

Once outside, Eugene was relieved of the noise that had been pounding in on him from all directions. It was hot and humid outside but any fresh air at this point was good for him. He turned to his left as he exited the building and decided to go for a walk around the block.

 

The image of Sidney’s worried face stuck in his mind as he walked down the empty sidewalk. He had grown up with Sidney being the one to tell him to forget his parent’s constant worrying, to play kick ball with the other kids at recess, to remind him that yeah, he probably was not going to drop dead any second like his parents sometimes thought. He knew that now that they were away from their parents, despite Sidney’s constant reminders and promises and even threats that he was going to make sure that he became a normal, active college student, that Sidney would step up and watch protectively over him, more so than ever before.

 

It was alright. Eugene appreciated that his friend was worried about him. As long as Sidney didn’t suddenly go from concerned friend to overbearing parent, Eugene wouldn’t have a problem with him.

 

Noticing a bench, Eugene stopped and sat down, feeling more than a little tired after the eventful day he had had today. He sat on the edge and looked up at the starry sky for a long time while he took in the fact that tonight would be the first night away from his parents and his home. Not only were there different sights, but different sounds that surrounded him. He closed his eyes and tried to hear the familiar sounds of the bugs at night, his dog Deacon padding around the house, maybe the cries of some birds in the distance. Eugene didn’t hear any of that though. All he heard was the occasional voice of a passing student in the distance, a few broken snippets of music that filtered out of an open door or window, and the faint, far off noises from the nearby ocean.

 

Eugene opened his eyes and jumped when he noticed another person in his peripheral vision. He turned and looked at the curly-haired teen that sat a foot away from him and realized that he was vaguely familiar.

 

 _I think he’s on my floor_ , Eugene thought as he took in his tan skin, brown curls, pale eyes, and the cigarette he had lit between his lips.

 

After a moment of staring that Eugene’s mother would have chastised him for, the guy finally turned and looked at him.

 

“Thought you were asleep or somethin’,” he drawled slowly as he exhaled smoke out of his mouth and nostrils. “Fresh, young college kids passed out after one beer…”

 

“No, just thinking,” Eugene said.

 

Eugene turned away from the guy and stared forward for another moment before he turned back to the guy and extended his hand.

 

“Eugene Sledge,” he said politely. “You’re in Hanks House too, right? I’m in room 506.”

 

The guy did not shake his hand. Instead he exhaled another puff of smoke as he stared at him. Feeling awkward, Eugene let his hand fall and retracted it slowly, as if it would make the situation better.

 

“Might be,” he grunted as he flicked away the spent cigarette bud onto the ground. He pulled out another and placed it between his lips before held out the pack to Eugene.

 

“I don’t smoke,” Eugene said.

 

His mother would have skinned him alive and sent him to live in a hospital if he had ever smoked. His mother had a fit when he passed by a smoker on the street and disapproved of any of his friends or classmates whose parents smoked; Eugene could only imagine what she would do if she could see him right now.

 

“Yeah?” the guy said with wide eyes; his sarcastic tone suggested that he wasn’t surprised to find Eugene a non-smoker.

 

“So what is your name?”

 

The guy turned his head to look at Eugene as he took another long hit from his cigarette. Eugene began to feel unnerved as the guys pale eyes continued to stare at him unblinkingly after almost a minute. Finally, the guy flickered his eyes away from him and stared at the ground for a moment, looking almost defeated, before he let out a big puff a smoke at the ground.

 

“Snafu,” he said gruffly.

 

“Come again?”

 

“You can call me Snafu.”

 

* * *

 

“Alright, you’re up next, Babe!” Julian shouted as he slapped Babe on the back while he wore a grin that was a mile wide.

 

“You ready for this?” George Luz, a kid from his floor that had pulled out the game of Twister half an hour ago, shouted, his face split into a wide grin.

 

“Spin away, Luz!” Babe shouted, despite the look that Bill was shooting him over the rim of his plastic cup.

 

“Left hand blue!”

 

“Hey, is there room for one more in this game?”

 

Babe looked up and saw a blond haired guy stopping at the edge of the mat while a dark haired guy hovered right behind him, both he was pretty sure belonged to his floor. He glanced at the one other person who had joined him in the game, a pretty blond girl with curly hair who he was rather sure was trying flirt with him earlier, and shrugged.

 

“More the merrier,” the girl said with a wink that caused the blond boy to blush slightly.

 

“I am not playing, Skip,” the darker haired guy said to his blond friend with a roll of his eyes.

 

“Well then be useful and hold my drink, Penk,” the guy, Skip, said with a grin before he shoved his half-drunk drink into his chest and took an open spot in the corner of the mat. “Let me show ya how a master gets it done.”

 

“Skip, you haven’t played Twister since Chloe Michaels’ fourteenth birthday party,” Alex Penkala said in an exasperated tone, “and you ended up falling flat on your face and ripped you pants almost clean in two. You are _not_ a master.”

 

“That’s the last time _you_ remember me playing, Penk, but that doesn’t mean that’s the last time _I’ve_ played,” he said before he turned to George. “Spin that spinner.”

 

“Is that what you and Faye do all the time? Play Twister in your basement?” Penk asked as George called out ‘right foot green’.

 

“Maybe that is what we do. It’s a great workout and it really spices up the relationship,” he said as he moved according to his order.

 

“Who’s Faye?” the girl asked curiously; George called out left hand red.

 

“His wife,” his friend answered curtly.

 

“Oh really now?” the girl asked.

 

“No. Just my girlfriend,” Skip said before he added, with a soft smile, “for now anyhow.”

 

“You’re making me sick,” Babe groaned as he moved his right hand to the yellow spot.

 

“Well I think you two sound adorable,” the girl said as Skip moved his right hand to blue. “I’m Lucy by the way. Second floor, of course.”

 

“Skip Muck, fifth floor,” he said until he turned to look at Babe.

 

“Babe Heffron,” he said. “Fifth floor too.”

 

“Babe. Is that your given name?” Skip asked as Luz called out yet another command.

 

“It’s the name I’m givin’,” he growled as he stretched across the board to reach the desired circle. “And don’t you think that’s a little rich coming from you, eh _Skip_?”

 

“Just what I’ve always been called,” he said with a shrug as Lucy reached around his arm to get to her circle. “Just used to it.”

 

“Same here, Skippy.”

 

“Less talk, more Twister!” Julian shouted from his seat next to George on the couch. He nudged Luz before he said, “How about some rapid fire Twister?”

 

“ _Julian_!” Bill growled as he reached out and slapped his friend upside the head. “Are you _trying_ to kill Babe?”

 

“No, just scrape him up a little. Same as usual.”

 

“Rapid fire it is!” Luz yelled while the two friends bickered next to him. “I’m going to start calling out body parts and colors and everyone will move until the last one remains upright! Got it?”

 

“Wait what?” Babe asked quickly as he felt his right hand begin to slip with sweat.

 

“Good, let’s get this going!”

 

“Hold on, let me just readjust,” Skip said as he tried to shift his weight around.

 

“That’s cheating,” Lucy said scolded.

 

“Right hand red! Left foot green! Right hand blue! Right foot blue! Left hand green! Left hand yellow!” George shouted above the music and other voices that filled the room.

 

Babe tried his best to ignore all the other sights and sounds that filled the room and put all of his focus on the task that the short and overly-excited Luz was giving him. Unfortunately, as he shifted his right hand from red to blue, he knew he was done for.

 

“FUCK!” he shouted as his slick hand refused to stick to the mat and he found himself face first on the mat.

 

Somehow his falling forced the other two participants to go down with him and he soon found himself on the bottom of a three-person dog pile. He struggled and yelled for a moment until Skip and Lucy managed to get off of him. He felt someone help him up while some people ran over to check out the wreckage of the game.

 

“Told you this kind of shit was gonna happen, Babe,” Bill grumbled as he gripped his face in between his two hands. “Fuck, couple hours into college and you already gone and hurt yourself.”

 

“What’s wrong?” Babe asked as he wiped as his soar nose and saw that his hoodie sleeve had drops of blood on it. “Bloody nose. Anything else, Bill?”

 

“The fattest bloody lip I’ve ever seen… damn, Babe you were always a gusher. I guess you could have gotten out with worse,” Bill sighed before he pulled his hands away from his best friend. “Let’s find Spina. He’ll patch you up good and quick. Now where is that son of a bitch…?”

 

“Never too far away from the action, Bill.”

 

Babe turned around in time to watch Ralph walk towards him with a half annoyed, half amused expression on his face. Behind Ralph followed another teenaged boy: black hair, blue eyes; it was Ralph’s roommate, Gene.

 

“Let’s get him cleaned up,” Spina said as he and Bill hoisted Babe up onto his feet.

 

“Follow me,” Gene said. “There’s a first aid kit behind the front desk.”

 

“I’m fine, okay?” Babe growled as his friends continued to act as if he was made of glass.

 

“Between your nose and your lip you look like a fucking bloody fountain, you idiot,” Bill growled as he continued to pull his bloodied friend through the crowd. “You’re getting looked at by the Doc here.”

 

“Who, Spina?” Babe asked skeptically. “Doc my ass. He got the fucking first aid badge in boy scouts and we might call him Doc when we’re wasted and he got a first aid kit but no way are we starting off college feeding his ego by calling him ‘Doc’ all the time.”

 

“I ain’t talking about Spina, Babe.”

 

“And fuck you, Edward,” Spina hissed as they hauled down a quiet hallway and into an empty room.

 

“Well then who were you talking about?” he asked as his friends shoved him down onto a chair.

 

“Is everything alright?”

 

Babe looked up and saw Dick Winters walk into the room, looking concerned, while Gene trailed in behind him with a first aid kit under his arm. Gene pulled a chair out from under a desk and sat down right in front of Babe. Gene gripped Babe’s chin and inspected his lip with his dark blue eyes. Gene flicked his eyes upwards to Babe’s brown eyes and it felt as if his gut had dropped straight to the floor. He cleared his throat awkwardly as his heart pounded in his chest and he turned away from the guy.

 

 _Not now_ , Babe, he hissed at himself while Gene said something to Dick over his shoulder. _Keep your shit together._

 

“You hear that, Babe?” Bill snapped with a disapproving shake of the head.

 

“Huh?”

 

“You need fucking stitches.”

 

“Just two,” Gene said in a soft, southern tone that only succeeded in making Babe’s heart falter once again. “Your nose seems fine but it doesn’t seem like your lips gonna stop bleedin’ anytime soon. Seems like you bit through it when you fell.”

 

“Stitches; is that all?” Babe asked lightly while he tried to return his heart beat back to normal.

 

“Yeah, fucking stitches you idiot.”

 

“Why the hell were you playing Twister in the first place?” Ralph asked in exasperation. “That games like a death sentence to you.”

 

“Well it’s your damn fault because as my keepers you forgot to bring down my helmet and knee pads,” he shot with a roll of his eyes.

 

“Oh shut up, you ginger idiot.”

 

“So, Eugene, you have everything under control here?” Dick asked as he took a step closer to the group, looking a little leery.

 

“Yes I do, sir,” Gene said with a nod to the R.A. “Be done in no time.”

 

“Eugene’s a pre-med student, Babe,” Dick informed Babe. “He’s a second year and is a licensed EMT. If you want you can see his credentials.”

 

“I don’t give a fuck,” Babe said with a grin. “I’ve had guys from my neighborhood stitch me up with dental floss behind buildings before so this is just fine for me.”

 

“Well just stay still, Heffron,” Gene said as he looked back up at Babe, which caused his heart to stutter once again. “I’m gonna get you patched up in just a minute.”

 

“For the record, Doc, it’s Babe. No one calls me Heffron and only the nuns back home call me Edward,” Babe said as Gene’s fingers brushed against his bottom lip.

 

“You’re gonna need to stop talking for a minute if I’m gonna fix this,” he said with a hint of a smile that only succeeded in making Babe feel more uneasy.

 

It probably took only a minute or two for Gene to clean and fix his wound but it felt more like an hour to Babe, an hour that was spent feeling nine kinds of hot and bothered and uneasy, especially since his best friends were staring at him the entire time. He wounded if his friends could tell that there was something wrong with him as he tried his best not to squirm under the Doc’s intense gaze while his fingers, even if they were covered in rubber gloves, brushed against his mouth.

 

Once Gene had finished fixing him up, he gave him his instructions on how best to take care of his newest battle scar before he departed the room. Babe shook Bill and Ralph off as they returned to the party that was still going in full force, telling them at he had had enough for the night and was going to get some rest before Julian came back to the room, yelling and laughing and bouncing off of the walls. The two friends let him go without a fight; both agreed it would be best if he called it a night before he managed to get hurt again.

 

Back up in his room, Babe sat down on his bed and rubbed his face with his hands, feeling shaky. He thought back to the Doc and how his heartbeat sped up and his stomach seemed to bottom out. He didn’t need anyone to tell him what that meant to him.

 

“Mean’s I’m fucked,” Babe sighed as he fell backwards onto his bed. “Christ when did my life become a soap opera?”

 

Babe knew that ever since Bill, Ralph, and Julian told him that they would be coming to Pacific Coast with him he would run into a little trouble. Unfortunately he hadn’t expected to run into problems on the first night that they were there. But then again, what did he expect when he was trying to hide one of the biggest secrets ever from his three best friends?

 

Babe was gay. After years of feeling out of place, he finally managed realize it at the beginning of his Senior year of high school. He had dated some girls before, even had a  steady girlfriend for most of his Junior year, but Dolores had called it off at the end of the school year; she could tell that his heart wasn’t really in the relationship and told him it was okay if they broke up and stayed friends, which they actually managed to do.

 

Everything became crystal clear to him one night at an end of summer party he had attended, where a guy from the next neighborhood over had drunkenly kissed him in an abandoned corner of the yard. He didn’t know the guy and didn’t know if it had been an accident or not, but soon after the kiss the guy had turned and puked in the bushes, which gave Babe the opportunity to get the hell out of there.

 

No one knew. Not his best friends, not his family, he hadn’t managed to tell a soul yet. When his friends first told him that they would be going to the same college, he had been more than a little unsure at first. He had planned on using this time away from his friends and family to really figure himself out. He had gotten over the news and told himself that yeah, he should probably tell his best friends, the people who knew him the best in the world, the people who accepted him, flaws and all, the truth about himself. Babe just wasn’t sure when or how to tell them all. But now that he apparently had the hots for Ralph’s fucking roommate, he realized now that the knowledge would be out and in the open a lot sooner than he had originally planned.

 

“Gotta let them know eventually,” Babe told himself as he closed his eyes, feeling suddenly exhausted.

 

* * *

 

“Where the hell have you been?”

 

Shelton stopped in the doorway of Hanks House common room and turned to his right. Unsurprisingly Gene was sitting in one of the chairs by the door, looking wide awake even though it was almost four in the morning.

 

“Oh, sorry I forgot to tell you where I was going, mother,” Shelton huffed as he breezed past him, completely not in the mood to deal with the guy.

 

He had just spent the last couple of hours moving slowly around the quiet nighttime campus. Very few people appeared to be up and about at this time of night, so he was able to move from one end of the campus to the other and back again, smoking along the way, without anyone bothering him or sending him looks or asking him questions.

 

“You know you won’t be able to walk around until five in the morning when you have your eight a.m classes, Merriell,” Gene said as he followed behind him down the hall and up the stair well.

 

“Who says I won’t?” he asked. “I feel like I could stay up for a whole ‘nother day if I had to. Maybe even two.”

 

“Shelton,” Gene said as he reached out and gripped onto Merriell’s bony shoulder, forcing him to stop. “Go to bed. Go to sleep.”

 

“You ain’t the boss of me, Gene,” he hissed as he broke out of the older boy’s grip and continued to walk up the stairs to the fifth floor. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

 

“Yeah well I can sure as hell try,” Roe sighed as he followed his friend down the fifth floor hallway and towards Shelton’s room.

 

“You know you passed you room, Gene,” he snapped before he stopped in front of room 510 and began digging through his pants pockets for his key. “You gonna come inside and read me a bedtime story or somethin’?”

 

“No, just making sure you go to your room and stay inside until sunup,” Gene said as he shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking down the hall to his room. “Night, Merriell.”

 

Shelton paused with his key in the lock for a moment before he huffed and opened his room. His roommate, Joe or something, was passed out on his own bed on top of the covers face down in his pillow while he snored softly. Merriell kicked off his own shoes before he slipped off his jeans and collapsed on top of his bed. Once again it was the middle of the night but he didn’t feel nearly as tired as he should.

_There’s probably something wrong with me_ , he thought with a shrug. _Fuck. Clearly something’s gotta be wrong with me._

 

No matter how much Merriell knew that most of Snafu was just myth and bullshit, he knew that there was something not right with him. Ever since his mother had walked out on him and his father when he was four and he was left to fend for himself, he had felt like Snafu was who he really was. Merriell was a proper family name and when his mother left and his father never let go of a bottle long enough to stay sober, he didn’t really have a family, proper or not.

 

Gene Roe called him Shelton and Merriell, knew those names only because he was so damn persistent when he found him that one night five years ago on a backwoods Louisiana road. He remember how Gene, too skinny for his new height at fourteen with big eyes that he had yet to grow into, had refused to call him Snafu. He had been way too tired at the time to fight him on the subject, because he couldn’t remember the last time someone called him Shelton, let along Merriell, so he told him his actual name.

 

Even now he remembered how weird it had been for all of the things to fuss over when meeting him was the fact that he wasn’t given a proper name.

 

The first time Shelton met Gene, he was barefoot, bloody and bruised, and lost. Shelton, who had been a scrawny thirteen-year-old at the time, had managed to flee from his house after a particularly horrendous fight with his father, where his father used his larger size and strength to beat the ever loving shit out of him. He had managed to escape after he smashed a bottle over his father’s head and didn’t stop running until he had reached the end of his neighborhood. He hopped on a street car until he reached the end of the city and began running again. He didn’t care who saw him or what people thought of him. No one in town wanted to help that crazy Snafu kid and he wasn’t about to accept help from random ass people he passed as he hightailed it out of the city.

 

He didn’t stop running. He wanted to be as far away from his piece of shit father and his crappy neighborhood filled with people who feared or didn’t like him and crossed the street when he passed instead of asking if he needed help when he was walking around in the middle of the night, bruised and beaten. He wanted out. And he was not going to go back if he could help it.

 

Shelton stole from stores for a bite to eat if he could manage, cleaned himself up in cleaner looking rivers, slept on a park bench, he didn’t care what he had to do. He figured this life would be better than the one he had back home.

 

It was the second night of his journey when he felt a problem coming his way. He had lost his shoes in a fight with some bum and he had been walking barefoot for most of the day. There hadn’t really been a big problem with that but at some point in the day he twisted his ankle and now he could barely walk anymore. It wasn’t even like he was in the middle of the city and could stop and sit and relax for a while.

 

He was limping around in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere, Louisiana in the middle of the night. If Shelton had ever been in a more fucked situation in his life before, he didn’t remember it. A little bit later, Merriell couldn’t take it anymore and his ankle gave out. He dropped to the ground and sat there, in the middle of a country road, miles away from anywhere he knew, and starving to boot.

 

He was ready to pass out underneath a low-hanging tree when out of nowhere, a flashlight beam shinned bright into his eyes. After Merriell crawled out from underneath the tree and up the slope he looked up and saw a tall, skinny, dark-haired boy, looking at him curiously. After several minutes of convincing and arguing Merriell agreed to follow Gene to somewhere where he could get help and eat and rest up. Figuring he had nothing to lose, he climbed onto the back of Gene's bicycle and let Gene peddle them the half a mile to a tiny clinic.

 

The clinic was practically empty when the two teens entered but he remembered how everyone seemed to know Gene and Gene introduced him to everyone as Merriell Shelton. Gene sat with him as some lady wrapped his foot and cleaned his minor cuts and gave him a sandwich and a cup of juice. He fell asleep on one of the examination room tables and woke up the next day with Gene sitting on a chair near him, eating some breakfast and telling him one of the nurses, Lydia, had some for him too if he wanted.

 

Shelton spent the morning eating quietly next to Gene, who didn’t ask why he was covered in bruises and cuts and why he had been running in the middle of backwoods Louisiana in the middle of the night without any shoes. He just stayed next to him while they waited in the clinic for one of the nurses’ shift to end so that they could drive him back home.

 

He lied to the nurses about why he was so far from home and so battered and bruised and he could tell they all wanted to say something but he stuck to his story so fiercely that no one seemed to want to fight him on it. Gene sat with him in the back of Lydia’s car as she drove him back to New Orleans but didn’t say much on the way there and didn’t really say goodbye to him either, but it didn’t matter to him. His father was passed out in the kitchen when he walked back inside and he stepped over him on his way to his bedroom where he stayed for the rest of the day.

 

Merriell didn’t know why he didn’t tell the nurses the truth. One of them probably could have helped him get away from his shitty town and shitty excuse of a father but he didn’t. He gave up and let them take him back home where he managed to stay for a couple more months before he took off running once again and somehow ended back up at the same clinic, where half the nurses still remembered him.

 

For the next four years, whenever his father got too out of hand, Merriell would run away and always ended up without fail back at the clinic where Gene helped out at the front desk and helped with minor bumps and bruises and sprains. Over the years him and Gene slowly became friends and grew to know the people who worked at the clinic and eventually was offered to stay in the back room of the clinic as a make-shift apartment.

 

The people at the clinic thought him nice and polite and normal. Merriell Shelton was normal, or as normal as a kid who kept running away in the middle of the night to a clinic that was a two days walk away from his home, covered in bruises that he didn’t want to explain, could be. Snafu was the fuck up who people thought was bat-shit crazy.

 

_“You can call me Snafu.”_

 

He told himself that he wanted to be Merriell when he came to college and left the streets who didn’t really know him. He wanted to leave Snafu behind him like a bad memory but for whatever reason, he had gone and introduced himself as Snafu.

 

He didn’t know how to be Merriell. Gene was the one who let Merriell be known at the clinic in Baton Rouge. If it had been up to him, he probably would be known as Snafu there too. He couldn’t be normal, couldn’t be Merriell. He had spent most of his life with an identity forced upon himself, he wasn’t even too sure who the hell he was.

 

 _Well isn’t that what college is all about?_ He asked himself as he closed his eyes, feeling his exhaustion begin to sink in. _Finding yourself and that shit?_

 

He opened his eyes and stared at the clock that sat on his nightstand and saw that it was almost five in the morning. Weak rays of light were beginning to shine in between the gap of his curtains and he knew that people would be up and about in a few hours. Sighing in resignation, he buried his face into his pillow, determined that when he woke up he wouldn’t feel so shitty and confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, comments are appreciated :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a bunch of cute coupley shit going on and bonding and it's adorable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are much appreciated. Sorry about the delayed update, started college and I'm busy yo.

* * *

“Another party, Dick?” Harry Welsh, Dick’s roommate asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

Dick ran a towel through his wet hair and shrugged. The welcome party the night before had been a hit, the last people had cleared out of the common room around three in the morning after an unexpected Twister tournament had started up. Brad Colbert had to almost forcibly remove George and Ray from the common room after they insisted that the party must go on until sunup. Everything seemed to have gone well, everyone appeared to have gotten along well, no fights broke out, and the only real incident had been between Babe Heffron and the twister mat but if that was the worst thing he was ever going to see then Dick felt like this year was going to go well.

 

He had an idea to have a party at the nearby beach. Now that everyone knew each other a little better, Dick felt like the next party would be an even bigger success. He felt extremely lucky to find so many people who just seemed to get along with each other.

 

“What’s wrong with another party?” Dick asked as he tossed the towel into his clothes hamper. “Last night was fun and everyone seemed to get along together really well. Why not? Me and Andrew were talking about having a party at the beach. I thought you of all people would appreciate a little extra fun.”

 

“It’s just, I feel a little cheated,” Harry said with a small grimace, the gap in-between his front teeth were clearly visible.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Dick, I’ve known you since freshmen year of high school and in all those years of high school and last year of college, I’ve managed to drag you to exactly two parties. And now all of a sudden, you’re the one throwing the parties!”

 

“These aren’t keggars that you’re dragging me to, Harry,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “These are just nice get-together Good, harmless fun.”

 

“Sure. That’s what you plan them to be, good harmless fun, but then the next thing you know it’s six in the morning, you wake up passed out in a field with a sorority t-shirt on as a skirt and a traffic cone on your head with a friend’s phone number written on your arm in permanent maker with the words ‘Hi. If you find me, call this number’.”

 

“And that’s why I never came to parties with you, Harry,” he said as he sat down on his bed across from Harry. “But this isn’t going to end like that. It’ll be fun.”

 

“Can’t we do a little bit of a middle ground here?” Harry asked with a shrug. “You know, not full keggar black out, wake up in a field kind of event, but like, there’s the possibility you wake up in your bed with no idea how you got there…?” Dick shot Harry a stern look that made Harry’s hopeful smile slide off of his face. “Well I guess this is the reason they made you R.A. and not me.”

 

“I think there are a couple reasons why they didn’t let you become R.A.,” Dick quipped with a grin.

 

 

 

* * *

 

Classes at Pacific Coast University would start the next day, which sent the majority of the students into a frenzy. Some spent the day inside, silently panicking while they read over their text books and anything that might give them an edge in their classes and others ran around the campus like idiots while they did their best to enjoy their last day of summer and freedom from classes but most of the students sat inside in A.C. or out on the quad while they took in their last chance to relax and get to know their new roommates and classmates.

 

“I don’t understand why people are hiding in their rooms or in the library, studying, when classes haven’t even started yet,” Skip said to Penkala as he lay on his back under the shade of a low-hanging tree. “Poor bastards.”

 

“Yeah well someone’s gotta get their shit together so they can tutor your dumbass,” said a familiar voice above Skip.

 

Skip opened his eyes and sat up to find a red haired guy who lived in the room next to him and Alex, Don Malarkey. After the party in the common room had ended, Alex and Skip had been invited into neighbors room, who was in the middle of a game of Call of Duty with his roommate, a tall and muscular guy with bright blue eyes and bleach blond hair, stating he needed another player because his roommate had baseball practice early in the morning. Alex, Skip, and Muck had gotten along perfectly, spending hours switching from game to game; it seemed that half of the things Don had brought to school were games. Needless to say when Alex and Skip finally crawled out of his room and into their own as the sun came up, Skip knew that they had both made a very good friend in Don Malarkey.

 

“Heya, Malark,” Skip said as his new friend and floor mate sat down next to him. “What are you up to on the fine, last day of summer?”

 

“Just ran out and got some grub,” Malarkey said as he sat down next to the two friends. “What are you two doing?” He glanced at Skip, raised up on his arms while Alex sat against the tree, texting someone on his phone. “Looks like I’m crashing a cozy little date.”

 

“Oh fuck off,” Alex said with a small smile on his face and a shake of his head.

 

“Yeah he wishes he were dating me,” Skip said with a cocky grin to which Penkala rolled his eyes. He turned back to Malarkey. “We’re just enjoying the last couple of hours of panic free, study free we have left. You?”

 

“Well me and a couple of people from Hanks House were talking about taking a trip up to the beach. Really end the summer with some style,” he said with a shrug. “Figured I’d find you guys see if you wanted in.”

 

“Oh hells yeah,” Skip said as he glanced to Penk, who nodded in agreement. “When we shipping off?”

 

“Not for a couple hours. Gonna wait until sun down,” he said with a shrug. “In the meantime, you guys wanna chill in my room? I want a rematch from last night.”

 

“You don’t know when to admit defeat, do you, Don?” Penkala said with a smile and a shake of his head.

 

“Sounds to me like you’re scared, Penk.”

 

“Okay, enough talk, let’s get to it.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Dick.”

 

Dick looked up from his seat at his desk to find Lew leaning against the door frame, looking a little hesitant but there was still a smile on a face that made Dick smile in a return. He closed his laptop and turned in his chair to face the dark haired man.

 

“Hey, Lew. What’s up?”

 

Nixon hovered in the doorway for a moment before he moved inside and sat down on his roommate’s desk chair. He leaned back in the chair, trying his best to relax when in reality his nerves were running rampant through his body.

 

_Just relax, dumbass._

 

“So, uh, I was wondering if you’d wanna come grab a bite to eat with me,” Nix asked in a tone of voice that sounded a lot calmer than what he felt.

 

“That’d be great,” he said with a wider smile. “I know a great place on campus to eat.”

 

“Great,” Nix said, not caring how excited he sounded and how idiotic he probably looked as he sprung up from his seat. “You good to go right now?”

 

“Yeah, let’s go,” he said as he got up from his seat and stood rather close to Lewis.

 

“Am I interrupting?” Harry asked as he stepped into the room, curly hair wet, a towel draped around his neck.

 

“No, we were just on our way out,” Dick said with a smile. “Lewis Nixon this is Harry Welsh. Harry and I are friends from Pennsylvania. Me and Lew were just about to get something to eat.”

 

“Well, have fun,” Harry said as he sat down on the edge of his bed. “Hey did you hear that there’s going to be some sort of get together at the beach tonight?”

 

“Really?” Dick asked.

 

“Figured you’d want to know, since you’re so into partying now,” Harry added with a little pout, looking every bit like an overgrown child.

 

“Thanks for telling me,” Dick said with he gave Harry his quit-pouting-like-a-child look. “I’ll think about it.”

 

Together, Dick and Lew walked down the stairs of the building and walked outside into the bright, hot sunshine. All over students were moving about, some just trying to get from one air-conditioned room to another while others purposely laid out in the direct sunlight, determined to get a tan that would last through the cooler months.

 

Lew glanced at Dick out of the corner of his eyes as they walked silently but happily down the sidewalk. The summer sun hit Dick’s hair and made his red hair even more vibrant and he could help but let his eyes fall from his hair, to his face, to his neck, and then his body. Nix flicked his eyes upwards again only to find that Dick had been watching him stare; he turned away, feeling rather embarrassed.

 

“Um…” Nix mumbled out while he tried to think of a good explanation but was saved when Dick began to laugh, which caused Nix to let out a soft chuckle too. “Sorry.”

 

“No, it’s okay,” he said with a slight shake of his head. He raised his arm and motioned to a nearby building. “Here’s the place.”

 

It was a one-story brick building that seemed to carry a certain hole-in-the-wall feel. Most of the people who passed the building didn’t glance at it and only a few people could be seen inside through the tinted windows. As Dick and Nix walked up the steps he noticed that there wasn’t even a sign denoting that this place was in fact a place to eat or even had a name. If Dick didn’t give off such non-serial killer vibes, Nix would probably feel a little worried by now.

 

Inside the building it was a little dark and not the kind of place Nix would have expected Dick to go to, but it smelled of delicious food so he guessed maybe this place was alright. After they ordered their burgers and fries, which Dick claimed were the best thing here and probably the best burgers on campus, they took their seats by the window. Once seated, Nix took a large bite of his glorious-looking hamburger and let out an involuntary moan of pleasure as the food hit his taste buds.

 

“Good, isn’t it?” Dick asked with a small chuckle, his brown eyes twinkling at him from across the table.

 

“Best burger I’ve had in a while,” Nix said as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, not caring about the noise that had just came out of his mouth.

 

“Told you this place was good.”

 

“Didn’t doubt you for a minute, Dick,” Nix said as he continued to eat.

 

“So, Lew,” he said as he slowly at his french-fries.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“You’re a sophomore, right?” he asked.

 

“Yeah,” Lew said after he took a long drink of his soda to help wash down the burger that was already half gone. “Transferred from my school back home this year.”

 

“Where’d you go before?”

 

“What, you haven’t already stalked my facebook page to find out my life story yet?” Nixon teased while he mentally patted himself on the back for not doing that to Dick yet.

 

“No, I’d much rather talk to you to find out who you are,” Dick said as he leaned a little closer to Nix with a soft look on his face that only succeeded in making his pulse rocket. “So where you from?”

 

“New Jersey,” Nix managed to choke out. “Nixon, New Jersey.”

 

“Nixon, really?”

 

“Uh, yeah, kinda weird but, whatever,” Nix mumbled with a shrug.

 

“Where’d you go to school before this coming here to Pacific?”

 

“Yale.”

 

“Yale,” Dick repeated as if he hadn’t heard it right.

 

“What, didn’t realize you were on a date with an Ivy League guy?” Nix said slyly while he did his best to not freak out about calling this little food run a date; Dick didn’t seem to mind that he called it that.

 

“Just surprising is all. Don’t meet an Ivy League every day,” he said. “Why’d you leave Yale?  PCU is a pretty good school but it’s no Ivy League.”

 

Nix dropped his gaze to the table and felt a frown form on his face. He thought back to his father, who was everything he never wanted to be and how his father was hell bent on turning him into another version of himself. He remembered how at the end of the second semester, how he realized he couldn’t stay there anymore.

 

“Hey.”

 

He was broken out of his thoughts as a gentle hand reached across the table and wrapped around his fist. Lew looked up in surprise and saw Dick smiling kindly at him, looking a little concerned.

 

“Sorry,” Lew apologized.

 

“It’s alright.”

 

“Just thinking…” he sighed as he used his available hand to run through his dark locks. He glanced back down at Dick’s hand on his own and then flicked his eyes back up to Dick, who quickly retracted his hand, as if he had just realized it was still there and that it was wrong.

 

“Sorry,” Dick apologized.

 

“No it’s alright. I liked it,” Lew admitted quietly as he reached out and grabbed Dick’s retracting hand. He placed their joint hands back on top of the table and smiled. “As long as you’re okay with it.”

 

“Yeah, yeah I’m good,” Dick said with the slightest of shaky sighs. “It’s just this is still kinda new to me.”

 

“Like, us being new or like, the whole two guys thing?”

 

“Both,” Dick admitted. “I just, I always knew I wasn’t like all the other guys but I finally came out to my family when I came back from school last semester.”

 

“What’d they say?”

 

“Well on one side they both kinda figured something like this might happen, but on the other side they’re sort of conservative and religious so they’re having some trouble with it,” Dick said, his brow crinkling from his thoughts; Lew wanted to reach across the table and smooth it out with his fingers. “But they’re warming up to it. I know eventually they’ll be okay with it but right now they’re a little leery of it. They also asked me to try to not date while I’m home, even though most of Lancaster knows. Could be worse though. What about you?”

 

“Uh well, my parents…” Nix started off before he let out a large sigh and sat back in his chair, feeling suddenly exhausted. “They just don’t _care_. About like, _anything._ Ever.”

 

“What?”

 

“That’s just who they are,” Nix said with a shrug while he remember his parent’s neutral expressions, theie lack of interest when it came to what their only son did when not in school, how there was no real reaction when his mother came into his room to find him kissing a boy from his private school and only asked that if he was going to have a guest they go into the living room. “Well, no, they care about things, just not things that they should.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“Well, Stan, my dad, all he ever cared about was molding me into his little clone,” he said. “He’s the CEO for Nixon Nitration Works, it’s really the only thing in Nixon, New Jersey, and he expects me to run it someday. But he went to Yale, his father, went to Yale, his father went to Yale, so I was supposed to go to Yale, whether I liked it or not. I needed to be molded into the perfect CEO and since I guess sexual orientation doesn’t affect becoming CEO, they didn’t care. Hardly batted and eyelid or asked me if it was a phase or whatever. They just asked that I used protection and kept it out of the local papers.”

 

Dick let out a small chuckle at the comment, which made Nixon smile.

 

“But so why are you here and not at Yale?” he asked. “You didn’t really answer me.”

 

“I didn’t want to become my dad,” Lewis declared as he fiddled with Dick’s hand in his. “I don’t want to become a CEO. I didn’t want to become yet another Nixon to graduate from Yale just because their father before them told them to.” Lew looked up at Dick after a pause and gave him a slightly apologetic face. “Sorry. Guess I don’t like being told what to do.”

 

“Who says that’s a bad thing?” Dick said before he grinned. “It’s kinda hot.”

 

Nix broke their eye contact as he felt his face heat up but he squeezed Dick’s hand as he dug into his fries.

 

“So,” Lew started after a long pause between them, “what was growing up in Lancaster like?”

 

 

 

* * *

 

“Come on, dude, you can’t just sit inside all the time,” Leckie told Webster as they walked through the campus and headed for the beach where there was a last minute dorm party happening. “You’re at college. Live a little. Break out of that prep school shell. You’re free now! Free to be who you wanna be, do what you wanna do, free to enjoy this campus and all the beautiful young co-eds who inhabit it.”

 

“And what if what I want to do is stay inside and study so that I’m prepared for class tomorrow?” Webster asked grumpily as he walked next to his roommate while he wondered if he’d be able to sneak away from him at the party.

 

“Dave,” Leckie said as he stopped and placed his hand on Web’s shoulders so that he would have his full attention. “It’s the last day of summer, you’re at college, where you’re finally free from your shitty parents. Live a little, just for one day. You might find you like it. You can spend the rest of the school year indoors with your face in a book but tonight, just give me tonight and I promise I will never ever drag you to another party again.”

 

“Fine,” David sighed heavily while he realized he’d need to get Leckie to write that promise down when they got back to the room for posterity. “I’ll go.”

 

“And you’ll have fun?”

 

“And I’ll have fun,” David said begrudgingly. “Or at least I’ll try to.”

 

“I’m sure you’ll have a blast,” Leckie said as he wrapped an arm around his neck and began leading him toward the beach. “Fresh, young college kid from an ultra-conservative, overbearing family going to their first party? How could you _not_ have fun?”

 

David didn’t say anything in response. In fact, he didn’t say anything until they finally arrived at the beach and saw the party going on in full swing. The majority of the people in attendance were students from Hanks House but there were a few faces he didn’t recognize. Leckie led them to where a bunch of coolers were set up and grabbed a beer for Web and himself. Web hadn’t really drank before, only glasses of wine at fancy parties, but in the spirit of getting Leckie off of his back, he opened the beer and took a pull.

 

It was disgusting, like fizzy, stale bile. How did anyone find this appealing?

 

“Just keep drinking,” Leckie said with a grin as he looked at the disgusted expression on Webster’s face. “It tastes better the more you drink.”

 

“I highly doubt anything would make this better.”

 

“It’s part of the college experience,” Leckie said before someone shouted out to Bob.

 

David watched over his shoulder as three guys made their way over to David and Leckie. Leading the group was a tall, muscular, and grinning guy who was waving a beer in his hand. A short and skinny guy with a thin face followed behind him while a guy with blond curls and blue eyes and who looked like he wanted to be here as much as David did brought up the rear.

 

“Glad to see you made it out, Lucky,” the tall said as he shook Leckie’s hand enthusiastically.

 

“Wouldn’t miss this, you bastards,” Leckie said before he motioned to David. “This is Dave, my roommate. Had to pry him away from the books to get him here. Try and make sure he has a good night, alright? I want to see him at more parties this year.” Leckie shot David a wide grin before he motioned to the three guys. “Dave, this is Chuckler,” he motioned to the tallest who grinned wider at him, “Runner,” he pointed to the smallest, who nodded, “and Hoosier,” he finally landed on the blond haired boy, who was too busy lighting a cigarette to acknowledge them. “Hoosier lives on the fourth floor and Runner and Chuckler are both stuck on the third floor.”

 

While the three friends talked loudly, David stood next to Hoosier, who didn’t seem up to talking or being even remotely social, and couldn’t help but wonder what the hell their real names were and where they had gotten such ridiculous nicknames.

 

 

 

* * *

 

Harry glanced into the half-open dorm room and looked at the back of the guy as he sat at his computer. He looked busy but in Harry’s mind, who the hell could be busy now before classes even started yet? Figuring that this kid needed a break, he knocked loudly on the door, causing the kid to jump slightly.

 

“Yes?” he asked as he turned around in his seat and inspected Harry with tired-looking brown eyes.

 

“Hey, kid, what are you doing spending you last day in front of a computer for,” Harry asked as he walked into the room and sat on one of the beds, not caring if he appeared pushy to the kid. “Don’t you know there’s a party going on tonight? Whole dorm’s invited.”

 

“Not really in the mood for it,” the kid said quietly with a shrug.

 

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Harry insisted as he got up and walked over the seated guy. “Just go for an hour, it won’t kill you. You’re supposed to go out and do new things when you’re in college.”

 

Harry watched the indecision flicker across his face for a moment before he reached out, gripped the guys arm, and yanked him upwards, which elicited a cry from him.

 

“Just, come on,” Harry said. “I need a wingman since my roommate decided to up and leave me for some other guy.”

 

“Are you serious?” he asked.

 

“Just- just stop watching porn or whatever it is that you’re doing for an hour so we can talk to pretty girls, okay?” Harry cried with a roll of his eyes.

 

“Fine,” he said after a huff while he shook his arm out of Harry’s grip. “But after one hour I’m free to leave your ass without feeling bad.”

 

“Done and done,” he said with and as he slapped the kid’s laptop closed while he ignored the look he received. “So what’s your name, kid?”

 

“Carwood Lipton,” he said as he shoved his feet into his shoes.

 

“Well I’m Harry Welsh, Lip,” he said as he patted the kid, Carwood, on the back. “Roommate’s the R.A. just as an F.Y.I.; got some friends in high places if you ever find yourself in a sticky situation.”

 

Carwood fixed Harry with a disapproving look that gave him the distinct feeling that his mother was about to scold him. He shook his head to rid himself of the thought before he wrapped an arm around the guy’s shoulders and led him toward the door.

 

“You’re gonna have a great time, Lip.”

 

“Is that what you say to all of the people you kidnap or am I special?”

 

“You’re special.”

 

“Gee, thanks,” Lip said as they walked down the stairs. “That’s what my mom tells me.”

 

Harry stopped and looked at the kid before he laughed, shaking his head.

 

“You know what, I like you, Lip,” Harry said with a nod of his head. “I’m gonna have to drag you out of that box more often.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

Leckie was moving around the crowd, third beer, maybe fourth, he wasn’t really keeping track, in hand, while he smiled at his fellow students, feeling on top of the fucking world. He had lost Web sometime after his second beer and he doubted the kid was even still at the party but at least Leckie managed to get him out of the room for an hour at least.

 

“Lucky!” Chuckler shouted to him as he barreled through the crowd towards him, a pretty, giggling, brunette on his arm. “Thought I lost you man.”

 

“Nah just got a little turned around in the crowd,” Leckie said as he watched a group of pretty girls pass him. “Hel _lo_ ladies.”

 

“Do you know where Hoosier went to?” he asked as he scanned the crowd in search of their blond friend.

 

“Probably ditched the party already,” Leckie said as he pulled out a pack of cigarette and lite one. “Same with Dave. Party poopers.”

 

“Ah, let ‘em be,” Chuckler said.

 

Leckie opened his mouth, planning on asking where the hell Runner had gone off to as well, when his entire focus was thrown out the window at the sight of a girl who had just passed by. She had long, dark, curly hair and pale skin and by the direction she was headed, looked as if she was on her way out of the party.

 

“Hey, where you running off to?!” Chuckled yelled as Leckie began running after the girl as fast as he could, which really wasn’t fast at all between the beers and the clusters of people in the way and all the damn sand.

 

“Hey!” Leckie called after the girl as he maneuvered through the people. “Hey! Wait up!”

 

The girl stopped, looked at Leckie over her shoulder for a moment, before she shook her head slightly, and began walking away from the party. Once Leckie reached the edge of the party where there are less people and less sand, he managed to speed up and reach the girl, but not without falling flat on his face first.

 

“Are you okay?” she asked as Leckie tried to stand up but fumbled.

 

“I’m better now that I caught up to you,” he said while he smiled up to her. “Why were you leaving the party so early?”

 

“I have class at eight in the morning tomorrow,” she said with a small smile. “I thought it’d be nice to get some sleep.”

 

“I’ve got class at eight in the morning too,” Leckie said with a grin. “What class?”

 

“You’re going to have some trouble getting there in the morning,” she said with a shake of her head.

 

“What’s your first class?” Leckie repeated. “Maybe we have the same class or I can walk you there or we can grab coffee on the way.”

 

The girl smiled down at him for a moment before she sighed and shook her head again, but it seemed to be more a gesture to herself than a denial of Leckie’s offers.

 

“I’ve got English in Matilda Hall,” she answered.

 

“Well what a coincidence, so do I,” Leckie said with a grin as he managed to stand up correctly. “So I’ll see you in the morning?”

 

The girl stared at him for a long moment before she smiled again and let out a sigh. She started to dig through her purse before she pulled out a slip of paper and a pen and began to write sometime down. She handed him the slip, gripping his hand for a moment longer than necessary.

 

“You’re a bold one, drunk,” she said. “Let’s see how you do tomorrow when you’re sober. I’m in room 208.”

 

Leckie glanced at the paper, ten digits that clearly were her phone number, before he felt a wide smile grow on his face. The girl giggled at him before she turned and began walking away once again.

 

“My name’s Stella by the way! In case you were wondering,” she called over her shoulder before she picked up her pace.

 

“I’ll see you bright and early, Stella!” he called before he turned around to find Chuckler and Runner staring at him impressed.

 

“Impressive,” Runner said with a nod.

 

“That made my night, Leckie!” Chuckler yelled as he slapped him on the back.

 

Leckie returned to the party, grinning ear to ear, but all he could think about for the rest of the night was Stella and how he had never been more excited to have an eight in the morning class.

 

 

 

* * *

 

“See, Lip, this is what fun looks like,” Harry said as he and his new friend reached the party, which was now in full swing. The sun had just gone down and someone had built a large bon fire. Music blasted from somewhere within the party and students ran around, laughing, shouting, drinking, and dancing, knowing tonight was their last night of freedom.

 

“Oh really now?” Lip asked. “Eighteen years of life and I never encountered fun before.”

 

“No one likes sassy bitch,” Harry said after a pause. “Now let’s go get some drinks and scope out the place.”

 

Lip followed Harry to the coolers, where Harry offered him a cold beer but he kindly refused and grabbed a soda out of a lonely, neighboring cooler instead. He was glad that Harry didn’t press him to drink; even though he knew he could say no, he had said no to friends before, it always left things a little awkward.

 

He scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face, maybe his roommate, Jay, since he said he was going out for a bit, but no one’s name came to mind. A lot of the guys seemed familiar, probably from his floor, but he just wasn’t the kind of guy to go up to another person he didn’t know and start shooting the shit.

 

“Hey! Ron!” Harry called out as he cracked open his beer, spraying some into the air.

 

Carwood watched as a dark-haired guy stopped and turned to look at Harry. He was handsome, no one could deny that, with dark hair and sharp green eyes. He looked at Harry and Carwood for a moment, as if deciding whether or not to go over to them, before he closed the couple of feet that had been between them.

 

“Didn’t think you’d be out here in this mob, Ron,” Harry said as he smiled at the grim-faced young man.

 

“I was just on my way out, actually,” Ron said.

 

“What no bites tonight?” Harry teased. “Figured you might get something with this new crowd.”

 

“Not everyone goes out in search of a hook up, Harry,” he said in a disapproving tone.

 

“Yeah and those people are either lying or in a relationship,” he said before he smiled and added, “Or lying about being in a relationship.”

 

“No one thinks you’re funny, Harry,” Ron said in his slightly harsh business-man tone of voice. “I thought we asked you to stop trying to be.”

 

“I’m funny dammit,” Harry said. “Just because you wouldn’t know a joke if it started dancing on a stripper pole in front of you in drag doesn’t mean the rest of us are as oblivious.”

 

Harry turned to Lip, who hadn’t said anything since Ron’s arrival, and motioned to him with his beer can.

 

“Ron, this is Lip, he’s a freshman on our floor,” Harry introduced. “Lip, Ron’s a sophomore, watch out, he bites.”

 

If looks could kill Lipton was rather sure that the expression on Ron’s face would have sent Harry six feet under in a heartbeat. Harry didn’t seem concerned by the look however, as he continued on drinking.

 

“You haven’t seen Dick, have you?”  Harry asked.

 

“If you’re surprised I’m here why would you ever think Dick would be here?” Ron asked.

 

“I don’t know where he ran off to,” Harry said with a shrug. “He ran off a couple hours ago with that kid you’re rooming with, Lew or something, and I haven’t seen him since. Thought maybe you two met up and decided to come to this party without me.”

 

“Don’t get a girlfriend, Harry, you’ll be jealous of every guy who comes within a city block of her,” Ron mused, causing Carwood to chuckle quietly.

 

Ron turned to look at Lip, who stared back, unabashed. Lip watched as the corner of Ron’s lips quirked up into the faintest of smirks. Lipton watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

 

“Cigarette?” he asked with the hint of a smile still on his face.

 

“Oh come on now, Ron, there’s no point in trying to scare the kid,” Harry said in exasperation. “Most of the newbies don’t know your little stories so there’s no point. Put them away.”

 

“Who says I was trying to scare him,” Ron said as he pulled one out for himself and lit it before he motioned the pack back to Lip.

 

“No thanks,” he said. “I don’t smoke.”

 

“Oh so you’ll offer him a smoke but not me,” Harry said as Ron stowed away the pack. “I see how it is.”

 

“Yup,” Ron said as he exhaled a cloud of smoke.

 

“I don’t need this,” Harry grumbled before he downed the rest of his drink and dove into the crowd of people, leaving Carwood alone with Ron.

 

 

* * *

 

“Thought you were gonna miss the whole party, Bill,” Julian said as Bill sat down in between his two friends, a fresh beer in hand.

 

“Excuse me, princess, I was busy,” Bill hissed as he cracked open the beer, drinking it down quickly so that the foam wouldn’t go all over.

 

“Doing what?” Babe asked as he stared at the roaring campfire in front of them.

 

“I was talking to Henry, okay you little shits,” Bill growled.

 

“What the hell?” Babe cried. “When the hell did this happen?”

 

“Why didn’t you tell us, man?” Julian cried.

 

“I was gonna but-”

 

“Hey, Bill, you made it!” Spina said as he sat down on Babe’s other side.

 

“Yeah, he made it and this fucker didn’t tell us that Henry was gonna call,” Julian said as he pointed an accusatory finger at Bill, who swatted it away.

 

“What?” Spina asked. “Why didn’t you tell us? We would have waited to leave.”

 

“If he had more time I would have fucking told you I was talking to Henry, alright?!” Bill cried in annoyance. “But he didn’t have long so I wasn’t gonna get your hopes up when I barely had a minute to talk to him.”

 

Henry was one of Bill’s older siblings and was the closest in age to Bill, with Bill being the youngest of ten Guarnere children. The four of them loved Henry and Henry loved them all as if they were all his bratty little brothers; they were a package deal after all. Henry was in the army and had been redeployed to somewhere in the Middle East halfway through their senior year of high school. Bill and Henry had always been close, even for sibling standards. Whenever Henry could manage, he tried to get a hold of Bill, even if they could just talk for a minute or two. Babe knew that even though Bill kept most of his feelings deep inside, he was always extremely worried about his brother, especially since he got redeployed to such a war-torn area. It surprised Babe if a day passed where Bill didn’t check the news about the war.

 

“How’s Henry doing?” Babe asked.

 

“He’s fine, I guess, I don’t know,” Bill muttered as he drank his beer. “Can’t say much of course but he sounded alright, tired, but alright.”

 

“Do you know where he’s gonna get to go on leave?” Spina asked.

 

“No,” Bill answered with a heavy sigh. “But he’ll let me know when he knows so… so I’ll let you dumbasses know so you can bother him when he comes home.”

 

“We do not bother him,” Julian yelled. “He loves us more than he loves you.”

 

“That’s the worse lie I’ve ever heard you say, Jules,” Bill said with a shake of his head. “And I was there when you tried to convince Maggie that Santa Claus lived on 15th street above the bowling alley.”

 

“I fucking know what I saw and no one can tell me different,” Julian said firmly.

 

“How the fuck did this idiot get into college?” Babe asked Spina and Bill, who laughed while Julian pouted and hit Babe up the side of his head.

 

Feeling happy and content, Babe leaned back to lay on the sand, letting the warmth of the sand and the fire cover him like a warm blanket while he closed his eyes. His peace was disrupted a moment later when clumps of sand started to rain down on him.

 

“What the fuck guys?! I’m relaxing here!”

 

“And you can relax if you’re buried so quit fucking moving around,” Bill said with a shit eating grin as he began pushing mounds of sand onto him. “Julian, hold him down!”

 

“What the fuck?!” Babe shouted, not caring who was looking at them or what the thought. “I’m gonna kill you assholes!”

 

“Spina get his arms!”

 

“This is just like fucking Coney Island when we were kids,” Julian laughed as he sat on Babe’s legs.

 

“Except now I’m getting some fucking payback,” Bill growled.

 

“I fucking hate all of you!” Babe yelled furiously, all of them knowing that Babe meant the very opposite in his heart.

 

 

* * *

 

 “’scuse me,” Harry said as he maneuvered through the crowd with a fresh beer in hand. “Pardon. Ah! Fucking watch where you’re going, ass.”

 

Harry attempted to swerve around three idiotic guys who were running around like three year olds hyped up on sugar (Dammit, Luz! Slow down I’m fucking sick of being ‘it’) but ended up being knocked out of the way anyhow and slammed right into the side of a girl.

 

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Harry said as he got up from the ground and watched as the girl tried to get up, noticing that the sleeve of her sweater appeared to be soaked with fresh beer. “Are you okay? Let me help you up.”

 

“I’m okay,” the girl said as she gripped onto Harry’s hand and he helped her up.

 

“Sorry, it was an accident,” Harry apologized, feeling like an asshole even though it had been someone else’s fault.

 

“Oh, it’s okay,” the girl said as she finally looked up at him with a smile on her face. “No harm done.”

 

Harry felt his jaw drop as he took in the girl’s appearance. She was short, pixie-like, with a heart-shaped face, big green eyes, curly golden blond hair, and long dark eyelashes. Her cheeks were red, whether from blush, booze, or if that was just how they always looked he didn’t know, but Harry liked it, a lot. He felt his heart stutter in his chest and felt as if he had tunnel vision just for this girl, this beautiful girl with a warm smile and a beer-stained sweater.

 

“Uh…” Harry stuttered as he felt his mouth go suddenly dry as the fucking Sahara. “I’m Harry. Sorry I spilled my drink on you.”

 

“I’m Kitty,” she said with a smile before she added with a shrug. “And don’t worry about the sweater. I borrowed it from my roommate.”

 

“Well I bet it looks better on you than it does on her,” Harry said.

 

Kitty blushed and hid her face behind her hair for a moment before she looked back up at Harry and nodded.

 

“Smooth line, do you use that on all the other girls that are here?” Kitty asked in a teasing tone.

 

“What other girls?” Harry asked honestly; he only had eyes for one girl and she was standing right in front of him.

 

“You are one sly little devil, aren’t you, Harry?” Kitty asked calmly, still blushing bright red.

 

“Maybe,” he said as he leaned a little closer to her.

 

 

* * *

 

He didn’t even know why he was at the party. It was just filled with idiots who were drunk on one cheap beer and blaming all their overly idiotic behavior on the end of summer.

 

“You know you look like the creepy guy parents tell you to avoid at parties, right?”

 

Snafu glanced out of the corner of his eye as his new acquaintance, Burgin, stops and stands next to him, new drink in hand.

 

“Who says I give a fuck,” he asked as he pulled out his dwindling cigarettes and lit up a new one.

 

“Don’t bite my head off, Snaf,” Burgin said as he pulled out a pack of his own smokes. “Just telling it like it is.”

 

“Whatever, you idiot,” he sighed as he took a long drag from his cigarette.

 

“Burgie!”

 

Snafu and Burgin both turn to see their friend Jay followed by a guy Shelton was pretty sure was on his floor. Jay and Burgin were friends from back home or something so when Merriel started talking to Burgin, he got Jay too. Jay wasn’t annoying or anything, he just wasn’t used to so many people his age that willingly talked to him and acted as if he was a normal person.

 

“Hey, Jay. Who’s this?”

 

“This is Lip,” Jay said as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the guy, who raises a hand in hello. “He’s my roommate.”

 

“Heya, Lip,” Burgin said with a nod. “You can call me Burgin or Burgy, whatever.”

 

“Anyhow, guess where I just recused Lip from,” Jay said as he stole a swig from Burgin’s beer.

 

“Where? And damn Jay, get your own damn drink. I don’t know where your mouth has been.”

 

“Dude, Lip was chilling by Spiers,” Jay said with wide eyes.

 

“Why the hell was he by Spiers?” Burgin asked before he addressed Lip. “Loose a bet or something?”

 

“What? No,” Lip said, clearly confused. “What’s wrong with the guy?”

 

“Haven’t you heard the rumors?”

 

“What rumors?” Snafu asked, feeling mildly curious about what they were talking about.

 

“Damn, Snaf, you have Spiers on your own floor and you don’t know about him?” Burgin asked. “Kids across campus know about Spiers.”

 

“Guess I’m not one for rumors,” Merriel mumbled while he thought this is what kids back home must had said about him. ( _Don’t you know who that is? Didn’t you hear what he did? How could you not know?)_

 

“Anyways, I guess sometime last year Spiers’s roommate got wasted and so he threw him out the fucking window or something,” Burgin said.

 

“That’s a load of shit,” Shelton said with a lazy grin. “The fucking windows don’t open. Don’t wanna let kids jump during finals week.”

 

“They don’t open this year,” Jay said. “But I heard they changed it after last year. Check out the windows, they’re all brand new.”

 

“I got better things to do than checking out my windows,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

 

“Well that’s not the only thing that he’s done.”

 

“Oh really now?” Lip asked, who did not look as if he was actually interested.

 

“Yeah. I heard some kid at a party was smoking all up in his face and so Spiers made the kid _eat_ his pack of smokes.”

 

“Heard he beat up an entire fraternity during a party at a frat house.”

 

“What the fuck ever.”

 

“Also heard…”

 

Whatever else Spiers apparently did, Lip didn’t want to hear. Muttering an excuse that no one heard or cared about, he turned around and began walking away from the group. He had been at the party long enough. Harry had disappeared some time ago and it was actually getting a little late for someone who had to be up for an eight a.m. class. Feeling exasperated over the stories Jay and Burgin said, Lip let out a huff and left the party, unaware that a pair of eyes were following him as he left.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Babe!”

 

Babe stopped, looked into the open dorm room, and found Eugene Sledge sitting on one of the beds, a decent-sized television set glowing in the dim room. Babe had talked to Eugene a couple of times, mainly because so many people were so interested in the fact that they rather looked similar, and he seemed like a good kid.

 

“What’s up, Eugene?” Babe asked as he leaned against the doorframe.

 

“I’m just bored as hell,” Eugene said with a shrug as he flipped his television remote in his hand. “Almost everyone went to that party thing tonight.”

 

“Yeah I was just there,” Babe said as he took as step into the room. “Why didn’t you go?”

 

“Didn’t feel like it,” he sighed. “Figured I should probably try to get some rest before classes start, you know? Why did you come back early?”

 

“Ehh, I just… just felt like coming back,” Babe mumbled as he scratched his head. “Don’t really feel like going to bed though so I don’t know why I did.”

 

“Well, wanna watch a movie or something?” Eugene offered.

 

“Sure why not?” Babe said with a shrug as he sat down next to Eugene. “What movies you got?”

 

They ended up settling on the Avengers because Babe had seen it half a dozen times and figured if he ended up falling asleep early he wouldn’t miss anything.  Half an hour into the movie and the two guys are disrupted by a knock on the door.

 

“Hey, guys, what’s going on here?” George Luz asked while his roommate, Frank, and another guy from another floor, Ray, stand behind him.

 

“Watching the Avengers,” Eugene answered. “Wanna join?”

 

“Oh hells yeah,” Ray said as he bounded into the room and jumped on the bed without a care in the world. “Love me some superheroes.”

 

“Move over, fat-ass,” Luz said as he gave the guy a shove while Frank sat down on the other side of Babe.

 

“Dude can we start this movie over?” Ray yelled. “I always miss the first ten minutes cus every time I went to see it some retard in the theater was always yacking away.”

 

“You sure it wasn’t you?” Babe quipped as Sledge started the movie over again.

 

The group was interrupted an hour later by Sidney, Eugene’s roommate, who was only momentarily started by the amount of guys in his room before he shrugged and laid down on top of his bed while he watched the movie. Fifteen minutes after that Babe looked up just in time to see Bill, Julian, and Spina as they stopped at the open door with a curious look on their face. After a nod from Eugene, the three boys entered and took their seats on the floor. Ten minutes after that bought the room Skip, Don Malarkey, and Alex Penkala and they were forced to pause the movie while the three new additions jostled for a spot on one of the beds.

 

As movie progressed, more and more of the boys from the fifth floor, along with some from the others, slowly filtered into the room until it was close to bursting capacity. Everyone was squashed next to someone or had someone’s feet in their lap or laid pressed up next to another guy because no one seemed to want to sit on the floor, no matter if there was more room there. No one seemed to have a problem with it.

 

Feeling warm, tired, and content, Babe closed his eyes and let himself fall into a doze and not caring that someone’s foot was jabbing him in the kidney and Ray kept shouting ‘no homo’ whenever he readjusted his feet that had been resting in his lap for the majority of the movie and some of the guys really needed to wear more deodorant. Everything as it was in that moment was perfect to him and if he had his way, he probably would have wished to stay there forever.

 

* * *

 

“Aw, would you look at this, Dick,” Nixon said as he leaned against the doorframe of room 506 and stared at the mass of twenty or so guys that had fallen asleep inside.

 

“What is it?” Dick asked, looking slightly concerned, probably because the floor appeared empty for once, which at this hour was troubling to an R.A.

 

“Look at them all,” Lew said with a grin. “Precious little assholes.”

 

“Hey, they’re good kids,” Dick said as he peered inside with a soft smile on his face. “Couple days together and the building’s still standing? I think we’re doing just fine here.”

 

Lew looked up at Dick and because he was so damn close and the entire floor appeared to be passed out, he tilted his face upwards and kissed Dick, who responded positively.

 

“You guys are gross,” Harry declared bluntly as he stood in the doorway of 501, not looking the least bit surprised. “It’s like you’re fucking parents goo-gooing over your brats after they’ve passed out.”

 

“You’re just jealous, Welshie,” Nix said with a smirk.

 

“Jealous of what? You guys just inherited a butt load of kids and you haven’t even banged or get to enjoy the tax deduction that come with kids,” he said as he leaned against the frame.

 

“Geez, you’re such a cheery little Leprechaun,” Nix quipped.

 

Harry grinned, the rather obvious gap in his teeth was visible from where Lew stood down the hall, before he raised his hand and flipped Nixon off.

 

“Bite me.”

 

Laughing, Nix gripped Dick’s hand and led them down the hall toward their respective rooms. Standing in the gap in-between the two rooms, Nix gripped the back of Dick’s head and kissed him once again, feeling warm and tingly all over.

 

“Do you mind making out somewhere else?” Ron asked as he stuck his head outside his room and gave the two a flat look. “There are approximately nine other rooms on the floor that are unoccupied and you have to do that in front of the two that have people in them?”

 

“Fucking thank you, Ron!” Harry cried from inside his own room.

 

“Night, Dick,” Nix said with a sigh as he slowly slipped away from him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

“Grab some breakfast before class?” Dick offered as he continued to grip Nix’s hand.

 

“Of course.”

 

Grinning like an idiot, Lewis walked into his room and collapsed on top of his bed. If anyone told them that they had had a better day than him today, he would have severely doubted it. Nothing could bring him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. :) Hopefully I'll finish the next chapter soon and get it up in a reasonable amount of time


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Month into college and things begin to get a little complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the super long wait guys, I've just been really busy with college and the usual writers block. But thank you everyone who read last chapter and everyone who's still paying attention to this story. I put some of my own emotions into this chapter, seeing as it's a month into the story here and a month into my own college experience, so this is kind of a special chapter to me. But today I just spent like four hours straight on this chapter to get it done cus I love you guys and again, I'm sorry it took so long. I'm also sorry if there are mistakes and typos. My brain in fried from writing all day but I wanted to get this chapter up ASAP for you all. So I hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

_What an idiot._

 

Merriel continued to stare at his laptop screen, his mood grew worse and worse the longer he stared.

 

“Hey.”

 

Shelton slammed his laptop closed as his roommate slid into the room, slamming the door behind him.

 

“Jumpy much, Snafu?” Joe asked as he collapsed on top of his bed.

 

“No,” he growled as he got up from his seat. “Going out for a smoke,” he grumbled as he walked passed him, as if Joe wondered or cared where he was going.

 

The fifth floor hallway was a mess, as if had been most of the time this past month here at Pacific. Luz’s loud voice could be heard yelling at someone who had apparently spilled something on his bed, loud music and video game noises poured out of half of the rooms and Snafu had to dodge the impromptu corn-hole game that had been set up last night by Muck, Malarkey, Penkala, and Compton on his way to the stairs. Once in the stairwell, he took the stairs two at a time until he shoulder-checked the door open and went out onto the roof.

 

He didn’t think that students were allowed onto the roof, but someone on his floor had managed to disarm the alarm that sounded whenever the door opened, so students occasionally came up to the roof, usually to get some damn peace and quiet or enjoy a smoke break. Snafu picked up the cement block that sat outside the door and propped the door open before he walked out to the edge of the roof and sat down.

 

He only had enough time to pull out his pack and light a cigarette before he heard the sounds of footsteps on the stairs and the scrapping of feet behind him.

 

“Can’t a guy enjoy a smoke in peace?” Shelton growled in exasperation; he knew exactly who had followed him up to the roof, only one person here would do such a thing.

 

“There can be peace between two people, Merriel,” Gene said as he pulled out his own pack of cigarettes and lit one up.

 

“You know for someone’s who’s in trainin’ to become Doctor Quinn medicine woman, you’re one hell of a smoker,” he muttered as he watched the other man smoke.

 

“Everyone’s allowed to have a vice,” Gene said as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. “Now how about you tell me why you’ve got this big cloud of gloom floating around you so I can get back to studying.”

 

“You would be sittin’ inside studying, on a nice day like this,” Shelton snapped.

 

Gene turned and fixed Merriel with a look that made him roll his eyes and sigh heavily; he wasn’t going to get out of this with a gruff response and a fuck-off attitude. Shelton jammed the spent bud into the ground before he lit another cigarette.

 

“Just checked out my grades,” he finally admitted.

 

“And?” Gene asked slowly.

 

“I fucked up,” he said through a cloud of smoke. “I’m about to fail half my classes and the one’s I’m not about to fail I’m hanging on by a thread.” Snafu reached up and scratched the side of his head, feeling like a failure; he felt like Snafu. “Not everyone’s made out for the college life, right? I mean, there’s always kids every year who drop out. Someone’s gotta do it…”

 

“Merriel Shelton, sometimes you are the dumbest sack of shit I’ve ever seen,” Gene exclaimed in exasperation. “Are you really just gonna give up because you’re havin’ some trouble in your classes? Just give up, accept it, and what, go back home?”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“You’re an idiot.”

 

“Don’t think I don’t know that. I’ve got the proof downstairs on my computer.”

 

Gene reached out and slapped Merriel on the back of his head, which caused his cigarette to fall out of his mouth and drop to the ground.

 

“What the hell was that for, Gene?!”

 

“We’re gonna find you a tutor and you’re gonna get your grades up and you’re gonna stay here and you’re gonna realize what an idiot you’ve been for even thinkin’ of quittin’.”

 

“Who says I have to listen to you?” Shelton huffed.

 

“No one ever did,” Gene said with a slight grin. “But you always seem to do what I tell you to anyhow.”

 

“Oh fuck off,” he sneered as he pushed himself up and began to walk back to the door.

 

“Just go down into the lobby, there’s a list of people who signed up to be tutors, it won’t hurt you,” Roe continued as he followed after him.  “So are you gonna man up and sign up now or do it later when no one’s lookin’?”

 

In response, Shelton slammed his dorm room door into Gene’s face. He let out a sigh and felt a small flare of annoyance when he realized that what Gene had said had made sense. He’d just have to suck his pride up and ask some smartass kid for help.

 

“So do you want me to write your name down or are you gonna be a big boy and sign yourself up?” Gene asked through the door.

 

“Oh fuck off!”

 

* * *

  

“Babe, hello, are you even listening to me?”

 

Babe jerked back into consciousness and looked up at the person who had forced him out of his deep thoughts. Eugene stood in front of him, coffee in one hand with a thick text book under the other, and looked mildly concerned.

 

“Earth to Babe?”

 

“Hey, Eugene,” Babe said as he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. “What’s up?”

 

“Well that’s what I asked you but you just kinda stared out into the distance for about five minutes,” Eugene said as he sat down across from Babe. “So what’s got you looking like a zombie?”

 

“Oh, nothing, just spaced out, I guess,” Babe huffed as he took a drink of his now lukewarm soda; how long had he been out for. “What’s up with you?”

 

“Nothing much, just came back from my bio lecture and find you gaping across the common room at them.”

 

Babe’s stomach twisted as he followed Eugene’s finger to see what he was pointing at, even though he knew exactly what he would find. Sitting on the opposite side of the common room was Gene and a pretty girl from the second floor. They had been sitting there for the past hour, talking and studying and fucking smiling and laughing, much to Babe’s displeasure. Clearly they were hitting it off; whatever it was that was between them.

 

“So what? Afraid of a little competition?” Eugene asked with a wide grin. “I mean what’s holding you back?”

 

“Maybe the fact that he clearly likes girls,” Babe grumbled out before he took another sip of his soda.

 

Eugene’s eyes widened and with a racing heart, Babe realized much too late what he had said out loud. He felt his face flush and was sure he was going to be sick. This was it. He could see it now. Eugene was going to get up and tell everyone in the dorm what he was. Bill and Julian and Spina were going to find out and become upset or disgusted and they would tell his family. He closed his eyes while he mentally braced for the verbal attack.

 

“Um-,” Babe tried to choke out before he was cut off.

 

“Do you have proof that he only likes girls or are you just assuming?” Eugene asked calmly as he sipped his coffee.

 

“What?” Babe asked, feeling as if he had missed a key part of the conversation.

 

“I mean, did you go like, all out and stalk his facebook and ask around or are you just assuming he only likes girls because he just happens to be studying with a pretty girl, who I know for a fact is in the same major as him,” Eugene said as he motioned around with his coffee cup.

 

“How do you know?”

 

“My best friend, Sid? He’s in for pre-med too and that girl, Renee, she’s in his classes too. He also knows that the Doc is a second year in the program and is pretty damn good at it, so a lot of the premed kids go to him when they need help,” he answered calmly. “So maybe he doesn’t like girls and he’s just being nice to her.”

 

Babe opened his mouth while he tried to think of something to say to Eugene but there were no coherent thoughts in his brain. He was still reeling from his sudden and unplanned confession and Eugene’s complete lack of reaction.

 

“You wanna go watch some t.v. or something?” Eugene asked as he gathered up his book and got up from the chair. “I know Sid’s stuck in a lab or something for another two hours.”

 

“Uh, okay,” Babe said slowly before he got up from his seat and followed after Eugene. They had climbed one flight of stairs before Babe managed to speak again. “So like, you’re okay with me liking dudes?”

 

“Clearly,” Eugene said with a slight smile and a roll of the eyes. “I don’t see what the problem is.”

 

“That’s… yeah, thanks, man,” Babe said quietly. “I mean it. Not everyone thinks like that, ya know?”

 

“Got some horror stories?” he asked curiously.

 

“Nah, not really,” Babe admitted. “I haven’t really come out to anybody yet so I didn’t know what to expect.”

 

“Well I’m glad I could start you off on the right foot,” Eugene said as they opened up the door that lead to the fifth floor hallway, which was obnoxiously noisy as usual. “So have you talked to the Doc at all, or are you just gonna keep admiring from afar?”

 

“Oh fuck off, Sledge,” Babe said as he shoved his friend into the wall.

 

“What? Just curious if you even have the balls to talk to the guy,” Sledge teased as he shoved Babe back.

 

“I have talked to him before, okay, you little shit,” Babe said as he quickly got out of the way of George Luz as he ran down the hallway with a cluster of guys hot on his tail; they were all laughing so Babe wasn’t that worried.

 

“Oh yeah, when?” Sledge asked.

 

“At the welcome party.”

 

“Oh right, when he was stitching up your face? I don’t think that counts,” Sledge said as he collapsed down on his bed. “And wouldn’t you two together go against that doctor code where they don’t date their patients?”

 

“Because that’s what’s gonna end up stopping us from being together,” Babe sighed as he sat down on the floor.

 

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Babe,” Sledge said as he flicked on the television with the remote and began flicking through the channels at random. “Don’t give up on yourself before you even get a chance to try.”

 

“You do realize that sounded like something cheesy a mom would say, right?”

 

“Yeah well, sometimes that kinda stuff actually makes sense,” Eugene said with a roll of his eyes.

 

“Okay, whatever, Mama Sledge,” Babe said which earned him a pillow to the face.

 

“Shut up, Heffron, and watch the damn show, okay?”

 

“Sure thing, mama.”

 

* * *

  

“Oh, sorry,” Leckie apologized as he bumped into someone on his way into the building. He looked down and saw a familiar girl with pale skin, sleek brown hair, and bright blue eyes. “Vera, uh, hi. It’s Bob. Leckie.”

 

“I know who you are, Bob,” Vera said with a smile and a nod as she stepped out of the way to let a harassed looking student through the doors. “You’re in my psych class and you live in my dorm.”

 

“Right,” Leckie nodded as he shoved his hands into his pockets, feeling uneasy. “So uh, ready for that test tomorrow?”

 

“I think so,” she said with a shrug. “You?”

 

“Think I might need to do some more studying.”

 

“Well if you need anyone to help you study, I’m just three floors below you,” Vera offered kindly.

 

“Er, right.”

 

A girl behind them called out to Vera and she quickly smiled and motioned for them to wait before she turned back to Bob.

 

“Well I’ll be seeing you around, Bob,” she said before she turned around and ran to catch up with her friend.

 

Leckie watched Vera’s retreating form until she and her friend blended in with a crowd and made it impossible to pick out her red hat from within the sea of students. He gave his head a shake and rushed into the building, determined to not be late for class. A minute later, Bob slid into his usual seat, a whole one minute early.

 

“Hello, Bob,” said a soft feminine voice on his right; it was Stella.

 

“Hey, beautiful,” Leckie said with a wide smile as he inclined closer to the pretty girl.

 

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Stella chided as she flipped her curls over her shoulder.

 

“Really? In my experience, flattery has helped me to get places,” he said with a shrug as he reached out to brush a stray curl off of her shoulder.

 

“Oh really, like where?” she asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

 

Leckie opened his mouth to speak when he was cut off by the arrival of their professor. Stella winked before she turned forward to stare at whatever their professor was writing on the white board. Instead of paying attention to the man, he stared at the beautiful girl out of the corner of his eye.

 

Ever since they met at the beach a month ago, the two had not gone a single day without talking to each other. They texted when in different classes, laid around in each other’s dorm rooms while they pretended to study, and they had already been caught in the process of hooking up a couple of times by both of their respective roommates, who were at this point probably a little annoyed with them. Leckie grinned as he thought of the color of Web’s face when he accidentally walked in on them last weekend; the poor kid hadn’t looked at him for the rest of the weekend.

 

Leckie didn’t know exactly what they were; just friends with benefits kind of thing or where they exclusive? He didn’t want to be the one to bring it up but hell, he would actually be okay with them being a couple. Stella was amazing, funny, and made him smile. He had heard of a couple of guys who had tried to ask her out but she had said no, much to his relief. They weren’t official, so she could have, but it just made him feel better knowing she had said no.

 

“You know I don’t have the information written on my face, Robert,” Stella said quietly with a smile as she continued to take notes. “Maybe you should look at the board from time to time.”

 

“You can just tutor me later if I don’t get it,” he said smiling.

 

“I’d rather be doing other things with you besides studying,” she said with a wink.

 

“Well what are you doing tonight?” Leckie asked as he leaned closer to her.

 

“I dunno. Got any plans, handsome?”

 

“I could think of a couple.”

 

“Well, you know where to find me if you think of something fun to do,” Stella said as he returned to writing her notes.

 

“I’m sure I’ll think of something,” he said before he picked up his own pen and began taking a couple messy notes, his mind too preoccupied with other things to focus on school work.

 

* * *

  

“Harry, I’m not going on a double date with you,” Dick said firmly but kindly as his roommate groveled at his feet. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Please, Dick, pretty please?” Harry begged as he kneeled before Dick’s bed. “Kitty’s the best girl I’ve ever seen and I just need you to do me this solid. One time and I will be indebted to you forever.”

 

“I just can’t, Harry,” Dick said with a huff as his friend continued to use his puppy-dog eyes on him to no avail. “It’s not like I’m exactly single.”

 

“Oh, right, your little boyfriend? Whatever, Nix can suck it,” Harry said with a roll of his eyes and a sigh.

 

“What am I sucking?” Nix asked as he walked into the room and sat down next to Dick. “Sounds kinda kinky.”

 

“It’s nothing, Lew,” Dick said gently.

 

“Then why is Harry on his knees in front of you?” Nix asked curiously.

 

“Lew-”

 

“Nix, I need to borrow your boyfriend for like, two hours, okay?” Harry busted out desperately as he turned to face Nix, still on his knees. “Two hours away from your hip and then you can have him back, safe and sound and in one piece, I promise.”

 

“Wait, what do you need Dick for?”

 

“Harry, I’m not doing it,” Dick continued.

 

“I’d do it for you in a heartbeat,” Harry insisted.

 

“Well I’d never put you into the position of forcing you to do something you didn’t want to do so-”

 

“What are you forcing him to do?” Lewis asked Harry, looking and feeling only mildly concerned; Harry was relatively harmless.

 

“Kitty agreed to go get dinner Friday but she also made plans to hang out with her roommate and so I said I’d bring Dicky here to entertain her roommate while we did this kinda lame double date,” Harry explained. “But I’m trying to explain that Dick would not actually be going on a date with this girl, he would just be supplying the young girl company, which is an admirable and noble thing to do.”

 

“Quit trying to guilt trip me, Harry,” Dick sighed as he leaned against Lewis.

 

“Haven’t you already been on like, ten dates with this chick already?” Lewis asked Harry. “Why are you so damn desperate to go on this bad excuse of a double date with her? I mean, you can handle one Friday night alone, right? I’m sure you had plenty in high school, one more won’t kill you.”

 

“Oh, ha ha, fucker,” Harry spat as he got up from his knees, looking particularly disgruntled. “I just had this big plan out where I was gonna… I was gonna ask Kitty to be my girlfriend okay? And I had it all planned out and then she sprung this roommate thing on me.”

 

“Well then I think it’s your own fault if you made plans before you made sure she was available,” Dick said.

 

“I could have sworn I made plans with her!” Harry exclaimed before he reached down and grabbed one of Nix’s hands and one of Dick’s hands. “Lew, Dick, please. Just… just please do this for me. Dick, you’ve been my best friend for years and I rarely ask you for things. Lew, I promise that Lena will not try and get her hooks into your boyfriend and if she does… well, my bad.”

 

“You’re not a very good salesman, Harry,” Nix said in a dark tone.

 

“Word around the quad is that Lena has the hots for that one Basilone guy or something,” Harry added quickly. “Just, please, do this for me? You’re already kinda friends with Lena right? You got that R.A. bond going on. You could get together and make up some more rules to enforce or something. Just please, please, please, do this for me, Dick.”

 

Dick turned to look at Nix with a questioning expression on his face. Nix looked into his brown eyes and watched as his resolve slowly crumbled; damn Dick could be a big softy.

 

“Would you be okay if I did this?” Dick asked him quietly. “It wouldn’t be a date. And if she did try anything for whatever reason, I would set her straight.”

 

“I trust you,” Nix said honestly.

 

“Okay can you just say yes so you guys can stop eye fucking in front of me?” Harry groaned with a shiver. “I feel like I need to go take a shower or something to wash off that moment; maybe take an acid bath.”

 

“Oh can it, Harry,” Nix growled.

 

“Fine,” Dick sighed. “I’ll do it.”

 

“Oh thank you, Dick,” Harry cried as he leaped back in excitement. “You won’t regret this and if you ever need a favor, I’m you guy, okay?!”

 

“Fine, Harry.”

 

“I’m going to go tell Kitty the news,” he said before he busted out of the room and down the hall toward the stairs.

 

“You know you’re probably gonna regret this,” Nix said as he turned to look at Dick, who had a resigned expression on his face.

 

“Yeah well, at least if something does go wrong, I can hold it over Harry for years to come.”

 

“That’s my guy,” Lew said with a smirk.

 

* * *

  

David unlocked his dorm room slowly with hesitation; he had already had the misfortune of walking in on Leckie and his girlfriend a couple of times and he was not in the mood to see it again. Fortunately for him, his room was empty when he entered and flicked on the lights. Sighing slightly, David toed off his shoes before he collapsed on top of his bed, feeling suddenly drained.

 

He had been at Pacific Coast for a month now and while his classes were going along smoothly and he hadn’t gotten lost a single time on campus, he didn’t feel right. He knew what the problem was though. It had been a month without contact from his family, a month since he had been cut off from his family and what few school friends he had managed to hold back home, a month since he was thrown into this new place with new and different people… he was lonely.

 

Sure, David Webster was always able to make some sort of connections to the guys from his school, nothing very lasting but they were someone to grab lunch with, watch television while they crammed for some huge exam. Here he didn’t have any of that. He couldn’t seem to bond with the loud and sometimes obnoxious boys on his floor or the other students in his classes, never seeming to get passed the semi-awkward ‘name, where you’re from, major’ ice breaker questions.

 

David turned and stared at Web’s currently empty bed and felt a wave of envy hit him when he thought about his roommate. A day into college and he had already created a seemingly unbreakable bond with three guys and even found a pretty girl to boot. David felt that if it weren’t for his rather popular roommate, he would feel okay with not having made any real friends yet; it was something he was used to. But with Leckie inadvertently rubbing his excess of good friends in his face, it made him feel like shit.

 

“Hey!”

 

David jerked upwards and stared into the doorway to find George Luz looking at him with a questioning expression on his face reminiscent to a curious puppy. He wondered vaguely how long he had been standing there while he was mopping.

 

“Uh, hey, what’s up, George?” Web asked as he sat up on his bed.

 

“Some of the guys are gonna start a barbeque up on the roof if you wanna join us,” George said as he leaned against the doorframe and twirled a pair of metal tongs on his finger.

 

“Uh, are we allowed on the roof?”

 

“Maybe, I don’t know,” George said as he scratched his head with the tongs and Web made a mental note to have him clean those before he used them. “We’re gonna sure find out tonight.”

 

“I don’t know,” Web said uneasily. “I have homework…”

 

“Aw come on, Web. Every night I walk passed your room and see you in here studying or you’re in the library-”

 

“You’ve stepped foot into a library?” Web quipped.

 

“Yeah, to rescue the downtrodden student from the avalanche of homework forced upon us by the institution,” Luz replied back in a brisk manner. “Now come on. There’s food, there’s people, there’s fun, all the things you never seem to be around.” He stared at David for another moment before he grinned a devilish grin that made a chill go up Webster’s spine. “If you don’t come willingly then I’ll just go grab Buck and Bull and have them carry you up there themselves.”

 

“Okay,” he said as he quickly got up off of his bed, knowing that it was not an idle threat. “I’m going, I’m going.”

 

“Good. That’s what I like to here,” Luz said as he clapped Web on the back while he grinned ear to ear. “Promise you won’t be disappointed.”

 

“No but I’ll probably regret this,” he sighed heavily as they began to climb the stairs that led to the roof.

 

“The only thing you should ever regret is spending the best years of your life wasting away inside,” George said seriously. “Go out, live a little, say high to that random stranger. It’s college, you’re supposed to have fun.”

 

“Funny I thought we were here to study and further our education.”

 

“That too, but you can do it in a fun manner,” the shorter guy said as he stopped at the emergency exit that led to the roof. “And I’m about to show you.”

 

George opened the door and David was instantly swept up into a slurry of music, food, voices, and smiling faces. Luz pushed him forwards when he refused to move, which caused him to stumble into one of the guys from his floor.

 

“Fuck,” the guy exclaimed while some of his drink slopped out of his cup and onto his hand. Web looked at the guy, thin face, brown hair and brown eyes, tall and thin; he thought his name was Joe.

 

“Sorry,” Web apologized with a raised hand while he turned to glare at George, who had already disappeared into the fray of the party. “Uh, Joe, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Joe said as his dark eyes flickered over Web’s body quickly. “And you’re Web, right?”

 

“Uh yeah. David Webster,” he said as held out his hand for Joe to shake.

 

Joe sneered at the hand for a second before he let out a snort and took a long drink from his cup. Web slowly and awkwardly lowered his hand and shoved it in his pocket. He looked around the party for Luz or really anyone who wasn’t looking at him with a predatory gaze like Joe was.

 

“Can I help you with something?” David snapped when Joe refused to turn away from him; he didn’t like the way that Joe was staring at him but he didn’t want to be explicitly rude to this guy he barely knew.

 

“I dunno, Web,” Joe said as he continued to stare at David over the rim of his cup. “Are you offering?”

 

David felt his jaw drop slightly and felt his face flush; he felt his face get hotter when Joe smirked and winked at him. He felt like he was going to be sick and dizzy.

 

“Jesus, Web,” Joe sneered as he took another drink from his cup. “Could you be any more obvious?”

 

“What do you mean?” Web asked quickly as he glanced around at the number of people around them; no one seemed to be paying them any attention.

 

Joe however didn’t give David a straightforward answer like he had been hoping for. Instead he smirked and shot him a wink before he reached out and grabbed onto his bicep.

 

“You been working out?” he asked as he gave the muscle a brief squeeze.

 

Before David could even let out a noise of proper indignation Joe had turned around and disappeared into the crowd, leaving David standing with his mouth hanging open and his face bright red.

 

_What. The. Fuck?_

 

* * *

  

“I miss you, too, Faye!” Skip yelled into his phone while Alex continued to blast music purposely into his other ear; he turned to glare at his best friend. “I will shove that speaker so far down your throat, music’s gonna be coming out of your ass!”

 

 _“I really hope you were talking to someone else, Skip_ ,” Faye said on the other line, laughter clear in her voice.

 

“Alex,” Skip muttered into the phone as he shoved the dark-haired kid away from him and pushed through the crowd toward the stairwell, hoping for somewhere a little quieter. “Sorry, George decided to throw a bit of a last minute party up on the roof and it got a little loud.”

 

_“Party on the roof? Don’t you have an R.A. to stop you from doing stupid stuff like that?”_

 

“Yeah well, my R.A. and another R.A. went out somewhere, or at least that’s what Luz said, and another is in ROTC and had something to do somewhere else and I think the other R.A. is passed out in his dorm. I dunno. Luz said we were good to go so we went for it.”

 

 _“I’ll have to meet this guy when I come to visit_ ,” Faye said and Skip smiled at the thought of his girlfriend coming the PCU to visit.

 

“And when do you think you’ll be visiting?” Skip asked as he grinned from ear to ear while his heart gave a pang of longing.

 

 _“I don’t know. I’m pretty busy with school work right now,_ ” she said.

 

“Well yeah, I don’t want you to mess up your grades just to see me.”

 

“ _Well I’ll see you when you come home for Thanksgiving,”_ Faye said. “ _And then you’ll be home again right after that for winter break.”_

 

“Maybe you should fly out here for spring break if our breaks match up,” Skip suggested as he leaned against the wall of the stairwell. “A lot of the guys are probably staying so you’ll be able to meet them all. What do you think?”

 

 _“Sounds like a good idea_ ,” Faye said.

 

The two teens fell into a peaceful silence for a while as they listened to each other breathe on their respective lines. Skip could hear the chaos of the party continuing on the other side of the door and knew he would have to be pulled away at any moment by one of his friends and then would be teased for talking to his girlfriend. Skip didn’t care. If there was one thing he didn’t expect about going away to college it would be how much he ended up missing Faye; sure they talked every day and texted each other constantly and  they even skyped from time to time but it was not the same as physically being there with her.

 

“I miss you,” Skip said quietly as he stared down at the floor and felt the most homesick he had been since he got to school.

 

 _“I miss you too, honey,”_ she said softly, which caused Skip to smile.

 

“Yo, Skip! Quit your hiding!”

 

Skip turned around and found Malarkey standing in the now open doorway, looking expectant.

 

“Be out in a second, Don.”

 

“Come on. This parties only gonna be able to keep going for another hour at best before the R.A.’s get back. You can talk to her later,” the red head said with a roll of his eyes.

 

 _“You should go,”_ Faye said. _“Have fun with your friends.”_

 

“You sure?”

 

_“Yeah, I have to go soon anyhow. I’ll talk to you later.”_

 

“Alright,” he said with a nod while he tried his best to ignore the faces Malarkey was making at him. “Love you.”

 

_“Love you too.”_

 

“Bye.”

 

_“Bye.”_

“I don’t know if I can be here when she visits, Skip,” Don said as Skip shoved his phone back into his pocket. “I get the feeling that the two of you in a room would be sickening.”

 

“That’s fine, I don’t know if she could stand you. Hate to scare her off after she’s flown all the way out here.”

 

“Very original, Muck.”

 

Skip gave Malarkey a small shove towards the door and grinned when his friend stumbled slightly.

 

“Watch it,” Malarkey said as he opened the door, loud music and voices filtered into the slightly echoing stairwell.

 

As Skip moved forward to follow his friend out onto the roof, he stopped when he heard the distinct pounding of feet as they ran up the stairs. Curious, Skip and Malarkey looked over the railing and were able to make out a shaved blond head and a large body. In unison Skip and Malarkey looked at each other, terror written on both of their faces.

 

“Oh shit,” they said together as the footsteps got closer.

 

Before either man could move or run or hide, the Nordic God that was Brad Colbert was standing in front of them; he looked even more intimidating that usual, dressed in his marines uniform. Malarkey felt Skip crowd closer to him in fear and he gave him a quick push, which earned him an odd squeak from Skip and an odd look from Brad.

 

“What the hell is going on out there?” Brad asked.

 

“What do you mean, uh, sir?” Skip asked quickly while he looked like a complete deer in headlights.

 

Brad gave Skip a quick look before he brushed passed the two friends and opened the door onto the roof where the party was still in full swing. No one at the party appeared to have noticed Brad’s entrance and Skip and Malarkey watched hesitantly from behind him, neither were sure if they should stay to watch the blow out or if they should try and run for it to escape his wrath. Brad pushed through a few people and stopped the music, which quickly gained everyone’s attention. The students turned in annoyance to see who the culprit was; Skip watched as everyone’s face fell and turned ghost white in fear.

 

“What the hell is going on here?” he asked in the deadly calm tone that gave him the nickname The Iceman. When no one spoke, Brad continued in the same deadly calm. “Under only emergency circumstances are students or faculty allowed on the roof. And based off of the smell permeating the air, I think it’s safe to assume that there’s alcohol at this party and since last time I checked everyone in this dorm was under the age of twenty-one, which means that you’re all not only breaking the university rules but the laws of the country.” There was a moment of frozen silence on the roof. No one moved, no one breathed; a pin could have dropped and a person could have heard it, an explosion could have gone off and no one would have moved. “Who’s responsible for this?”

 

Again there was quiet but this time there was movement. Everyone in the crowd quickly shifted around as the searched to find the people who they believed were the culprits and hoped that they wouldn’t get the same treatment they did. Finally, made a small face of annoyance and yelled out into the crowd.

 

_“Ray!”_

 

Skip watched as the crowd of people parted like the damn red sea and Brad was fucking Moses. Brad’s icy eyes locked onto the skinny dark-haired guy who stood at the center of the broken crowd. As Skip shifted his gaze between the two men, he couldn’t help but notice that neither man looked surprised to see the other. Ray, in fact, was leaning against one of the coolers as he drank from a plastic coconut cup, his ridiculous gold sunglasses set low on his nose so that his brown eyes could be seen just over the top.

 

“How nice of you to show up, Bradley,” Ray said with a grin. “You usually never come to any of my lovely parties.”

 

“Ray you not only are responsible for starting this party in an illegal area, but you are all breaking the law by drinking alcohol,” Brad said as Ray sauntered towards him.

 

“Who says I’m drinking?” Ray asked as he raised his cup to Brad’s eye level. “This is fruit punch. I’m a good child, remember?”

 

“I’m still going to report you for illegal entrance onto the roof.”

 

“Go ahead,” Ray said with a shrug. “Sometimes to have a good time you gotta break a couple of rules. But if I say so myself, I blame this whole incident on the lack of supervision the students in the building have and of course that damn gangster rap; it’s corrupting the youth of the nation, don’t you think?”

 

Brad stared at Ray for another long moment before he spoke again.

 

“Where are the other R.A.’s Ray?”

 

“You ask me that like I tied them up and threw them in the basement,” Ray said with a huff before he rolled his eyes and shrugged. “I saw Dick and Lena leaving earlier with some friends and I haven’t seen Haldane all day.”

 

Brad gave Ray the tiniest of nods, which made Ray grin a little wider.

 

“I’m going to find where they are and then we’re going to have a meeting with you, Ray.”

 

“Looking forwards to it, Bradley,” he said with a grin before he took another sip of his drink.

 

The crowd watched as Brad walked away from Ray, pulled out his cell phone, and began to walk down the stairwell. Everyone turned to look at Ray, a wide range of emotions could be seen on all of the student’s face.

 

“Well, he didn’t say stop the party, so let’s get back to-”

 

“Ray I’ll be back up there in five minutes and if you and the other students are not cleaning up the roof I will bring you straight to the dean’s office!” Brad’s voice echoed up from the stairwell.

 

“Buzz kill.”

 

 

* * *

  

“I’ve never eaten here before,” Kitty said as she sat down at their table at the restaurant that was situated on the other side of the town. Dick, Harry, and Lena had all piled into Kitty’s little red car and drove there.

 

“I came here a couple of times last year; the food’s pretty good,” Harry said as he sat across from Kitty, smiling wildly as he looked up at her.

 

“I think I came here once last year,” Lena said as he began to peruse the menu.

 

“They’ve got really good pasta here,” Dick supplied.

 

Lena looked up at him and smiled politely.

 

“Maybe I’ll try the pasta.”

 

Dick nodded before he returned to his own menu. He glanced at Lena over the top of his menu for a moment before he looked away. Lena was nice, pretty, smart, and was a great leader; he was sure plenty of guys would have loved to have gone on a date with her but he just wasn’t one of them. If Dick had it his way, Dick would have gone on a double date with his best friend and the girl of his dreams and Nix. Lena was great, they were both R.A.’s and got along the best out of the four of them, but whenever he looked over at Lena and her dark curls, he only could think of Lewis and his dark shiny hair, sitting alone in his room.

 

“Hello, earth to Dick,” Harry snapped.

 

“What?”

 

“Jesus, did someone steel your brain? You’ve been out of it all day,” Harry said as he tossed his menu onto the table. “I asked what you were gonna order like five minutes ago.”

 

“Oh, sorry, I’m not sure yet.”

 

“Well can you hurry up? Some of us are starving here,” Harry whined as he tapped his menu against the table.

 

“You’re going to have to wait twenty minutes for your food anyhow so what’s it matter if you wait another two minutes,” Dick said as he refocused on the menu.

 

“Be patient, Harry,” Kitty said as she placed a hand on top of Harry’s so that he would stop tapping his menu. “You dragged the poor guy out here, the least you could do is give him a minute to decide.”

 

“I did not drag him out here!”

 

“Yeah, you just cried and begged a lot,” Dick said with a smirk, which caused Harry to flush.

 

“I did not cry,” Harry snapped as the tip of his ears went as red as his hair.

 

“So you begged?” Lena asked with a soft smirk, her eyes twinkling with contained laughter.

 

Harry opened his mouth to protest but after a slight pause, Kitty let out a loud giggle and Harry flushed even more. He picked up his menu and promptly hid behind it.

 

“You guys are ganging up on me,” he muttered as he pretended to peruse the menu.

 

“Aw, sweetie, it’s okay,” Kitty said as she reached across the table and pulled down his menu. “They’re just teasing.”

 

“They’re being jerks,” he muttered sullenly as he dropped his menu.

 

“Oh don’t sulk, Harry,” Lena said with a slight roll of her eyes. “We tease because we care.”

 

“Well you guys can care a little less.”

 

“We’re sorry, Harry,” Dick said sincerely. “We promise to behave for the rest of the dinner.”

 

“Yeah you better,” Kitty said, sounding suddenly protective. “Because if you make him cry you’ll have to deal with me. And Lena knows not to mess with me when I’m mad, but you better watch out Dick.”

 

Dick raised his hands up in a sign of surrender, not wanting to be attacked by the tiny but fiery young woman. A diversion in the shape of their waiter stopped their fake fight from going any farther.

 

“Do you all know what you want to order?”

 

“Yes,” Harry said firmly, which caused Dick to smile ever so slightly as his best friend began to rattle off his order.

 

The rest of the dinner went smoothly, or as smoothly as anything can when involving Harry Welsh. It was only during dessert that a problem arose. Both Lena’s and Dick’s cell phones went off at the same time. The two R.A.’s shared a brief look before they checked their phones.

 

“What’s up?” Kitty asked.

 

“We gotta go,” Lena said as she shoved her phone into her purse.

 

“What happened?” Harry asked, sounding worried.

 

“Some kind of incident involving Ray Person and a roof party,” Dick answered with a sigh as he waved their waiter down for their checks.

 

“Here I’ll drive you guys back,” Kitty said.

 

“No, Kitty, stay here, you don’t have to worry,” Lena said as she pulled her money from her wallet and set it on top of her check.

 

“Well how are you going to get home? You can’t walk this far back there.”

 

“We’ll take a bus,” Lena said brighty as she got up from her seat. “There’s a bus stop a block down from here that’ll take us back to campus.”

 

“But wait-”

 

“The dinner was lovely, Harry, Kitty, we’ll have to do it again sometime,” Dick said as he pulled his jacket on.

 

“Perhaps sometimes when Ray Person is out of town,” Lena suggested.

 

“Have a good night, Harry,” Dick said with a wink before he followed Lena out the front doors.

 

Fifteen minutes later and Lena and Dick were taking their seats on a relatively empty bus headed back to Pacific Coast University. Lena let out a slight sigh as she leaned back in her seat; she looked annoyed.

 

“Sorry our dinner got disrupted,” Dick apologized.

 

“It’s not your fault, Dick,” she said with a tired smile. “It’s just nice to get out and go to a nice dinner every one and a while.”

 

Dick turned to her and gave her a mildly surprised look.

 

“What?” she asked in a slightly defensive tone. “I’m not allowed to like to go out?”

 

“No it’s just that I expected plenty of guys to be dying to go out with you,” he said with a kind smile.

 

“Oh well, it’s more of matter of me being too busy for things like this,” she said with a small smile. “What with ROTC and R.A. duties and not to mention homework. Most of my Friday nights I’m in bed by ten and my Saturday’s are usually spent in the library while I try to catch up on homework.”

 

“Well next time you’re not busy we’ll have to do this again,” Dick offered.

 

“I’d like that,” Lena said as she turned her head to look at Dick.

 

Dick felt a jolt of worry in his gut and instantly needed to make sure that Lena knew what his intentions were with her.

 

“As friends, right?” Dick said quickly while he hoped that he was not hurting his friend’s feelings.

 

To his immense relief, Lena let out a breathy laugh and nodded with a smile.

 

“Of course, Dick,” she said. “I never got anything besides friendship between us. I’m happy to be friends with you.”

 

“Good,” he said.

 

“Besides, I wouldn’t want to try and fight Lewis for you,” she said coyly as she looked out the window.

 

“What?” Dick stuttered with wide eyes.

 

“What? Is it supposed to be a secret?”

 

Dick stared at Lena’s smug face for a moment before he let out a heavy sigh and smiled, despite the nerves he felt in his stomach.

 

“I guess we were trying to be discreet about it,” he finally answered.

 

“Well to tell you the truth I think you two sort of failed at that.”

 

“I’ll make sure to tell Lewis to be less… _handsy_ when in public.”

 

“Oh it’s not just wondering hands that have got people noticing. You two could be in straightjackets on opposite sides of the room but it would still be obvious how much of a couple you two are.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“The chemistry you two have; it’s kinda obvious,” she said. “Not to mention the eye fucking.”

 

“Um, excuse me _,_ the _what_?” Dick asked as he blushed about four different shades of red.

 

“You two make goo-goo eyes at each and give each other these looks when you think the other isn’t looking and really, sometimes I just picture the explicit thoughts,” Lena continued. “Not so much from you, you definitely favor the tender eye play but Nixon, it’s clear what’s going on in his head when he looks at you.”

 

Feeling mortified, Dick let out a slight wail and buried his face in his hands. Lena let out a laugh and patted him on his back.

 

“It’s okay, Dick,” she said. “Everyone thinks you two are adorable. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

 

“I’m _not_ ashamed, I’m _embarrassed_ ,” Dick admitted as he removed his hands from his face.

 

“Why?”

 

“I’ve just never really been in a public relationship before,” he said with a shrug. “I’m just not used to everyone knowing I guess.”

 

“Do like, does your family know…?”

 

“Yeah they know,” Dick answered. “They’re okay with it, for the most part. They’re still sort of adjusting but it’s like they sent be away to gay camp or something crazy like that.”

 

“Well that’s good,” Lena said with a nod.

 

“So, do you have a secret love life I don’t know about?” Dick asked after a brief pause.

 

“I’m a very busy person, I already told you,” she said.

 

“Maybe you’re just busy with _someone_ else and telling everyone you’re busy because of your duties,” he said with a smirk.

 

“Richard Winters,” Lena said sternly.

 

“What? Maybe you’re just more sneaky than me.”

 

“Well I’m not because like I told you I’m much too busy to be going out with some dark-haired army boy who doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of no.”

 

“Well that was pretty specific.”

 

“No it wasn’t.”

 

“I think it sort of was, Lena.”

 

Lena did not respond to Dick. Instead she reached up her arm and pulled the cord that ran down the side of the bus and said, “Our stops coming up next.”

 

Dick nodded; he was not one to pry and just hoped that Lena knew that if she ever wanted to talk, he would be there for her. He didn’t say that though. Instead he smiled as the bus slowed to a stop and said, “well let’s see if Brad’s overreacting or not.”

 

“Should be fun.”

 

As the two started to walk through the near-empty college campus, Lena suddenly reached out and laced one of her arms through one of Dicks, catching him by surprise momentarily. He smiled down and her while she stared forward and together they walked back to Hanks House and imagined all the sorts of trouble Ray Person could have gotten into.

 

* * *

 

“So based off of the events of today, I feel as if we as R.A.’s need to play a more active role in watching over the students in this dorm,” Brad said sternly as he looked around the table at Dick, Lena, and Andy. After he had manage to gather the other three R.A.’s he told them all the story of the roof party, which had been mainly blamed on Ray Person but included a slew of other students names including George Luz, John Julian,  Walt Hasser, and Wayne Sisk. “If something like that happens again we’ll be forced to alert the Dean and I don’t think any of us want to deal with that kind of issue.”

 

“So what are you suggesting we do?” Andy asked.

 

“We should make sure we have one R.A. in the dorm at all times,” Dick answered easily. “They can do a floor check every now and again to make sure everything’s under control.”

 

“We could schedule shifts to make it the most efficient,” Lena suggested.

 

“Should we post the schedule for the kids to see?” Andy asked. “On one hand it would let them know who was here and when in case they needed someone’s specific help. But on the other hand-”

 

“On the other hand they would probably use the information to maneuver around our watch,” Brad finished. “If they need one of us specifically they can come to us and ask for when we’ll be available.”

 

“Okay, so what are we going to do as punishment for the offenders?” Dick asked.

 

“I have already taken care of the offenders,” he said coolly. “After they finished cleaning up the roof, I wrote the main offenders up for fifty hours of community service.”

 

“What about the other students?” Andy asked.

 

“The students who were at the party were written up for ten hours of community service,” he answered.

 

“We should get our schedule written up tonight so we can put this into effect by tomorrow,” Dick said as he glanced at his watch. “It is getting late.”

 

“Late? It’s a Saturday night,” Andy said with a smile. “Nothing is too late on a Saturday.”

 

“Well in that case you can take the first shift tomorrow morning, Haldane,” Brad said with a hint of a smile on his usually stoic face.

 

“And yes you have to be awake for your shift,” Lena chimed in, which cause the man to frown.

 

“How early are we talking about?” he asked.

 

“Seven a.m. at least Brad said as he reached out and grabbed a notebook and a pen. We might have to go earlier, depending on how much they resist it.”

 

“Oh great.”

 

“You gotta do what you gotta do, Andy,” Lena said.

 

“Hang tough,” Dick said as he clapped the guy on the back. “You just have to be conscious enough to notice a party breaking out.”

 

“Okay, let’s get this done so we can get out of here,” Brad said as he flipped open the notebook and began scribbling down onto the page. “I still have to check how the progress on the roof is going. I told Person if it wasn’t spotless by the time I went up there I’d double his community service time.”

 

 

* * *

 

In Merriel’s opinion there were many good places one could spend their Monday afternoon after a long day of annoying classes. None of them, however, were in a dusty, warm library, which was where he currently was. Thanks to Gene’s damn constant prying and pushing, Merriel signed up for a tutor to help with some of his course work. He had gotten an email Saturday about a possible tutor and agreed to meet with the guy in the library after classes on Monday. Snafu didn’t know who his tutor was going to be, the email hadn’t specified or maybe it had because he hadn’t really read the email, just the when and where portion, but he hoped he didn’t absolutely hate the guy. As much as he hated going through with the whole tutor idea, he knew Gene would bitch if he kicked the guy to curb and he really did not want to get onto Gene Roe’s bad side.

 

“Snafu?”

 

Merriel looked up and was mildly surprised to see the familiar red hair and wide brown eyes that belonged to Eugene Sledge.

 

“You my tutor, Sledge?” Merriel asked as Eugene sat his book bag down onto the top of the table and sat down.

 

“Unless there are two Merriel Shelton’s on this campus then yes, I am,” Eugene said as he began pulling out his books. “So I was told you’re having trouble in Math and your English class, right?”

 

“Well I’m definitely having the most trouble in those if that’s what you mean,” he said with a sigh as he rested an elbow on top of the table.

 

“Well we’ll focus on your math and English and if we get a lot done with those, maybe we can work on your other classes,” he said with a slight smile.

 

“Whatever,” Snafu said as he rested his chin in the palm of his hand and stared unblinkingly at Eugene. “You’re in charge here, teach.”

 

Eugene paused and returned Snafu’s intense gaze for a moment before he sighed and turned away.

 

“Well, let’s get to work.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just have to apologize for my obsession with Dick and Lena's BROTP, I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. But I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm sad I wasn't able to squeeze Lip and Spiers and a bunch of the other boys into the chapter but hopefully next chapter I'll get more of the boys in here. Thanks for reading :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midterms are a bitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry for the wait... again (it's under a month, don't be mad). So as an FYI, this chapter is centered around the trials and tribulations of midterms and I wrote most of this chapter while procrastinating against studying for my own midterms so, yeah, know what these guys are going through. I didn't really edit it, just skimmed over sections so there may be some mistakes, my bad. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

“So to find the inverse of a function… you have to solve for… _x?_ ” Skip asked slowly as he frowned at his math textbook.

 

“That’s right,” Kitty said with a soft smile and a nod. “Then what do you do?”

 

Skip let out a deep breath and screwed up his eyes in thought. He had been stuck in this torture session that PCU dubbed group tutor sessions for the past hour and the stabbing pain behind his eyes that had started off as a steady throb was now reaching new levels.

 

“Cry,” he answered seriously as he ran a hand through his hair.

 

“Come on, Skip, I thought you were too manly to cry,” Kitty said.

 

“You obviously thought wrong,” Skinny Sisk said with a cocky grin. “We hear him bawling over his little soap operas on the fourth floor.”

 

“I’m not even going to argue with you because one: it’s okay for manly men like myself to cry and two: have you guys ever _watched_ Supernatural? That show is fucking painful.”

 

“We’ve heard enough about your Supernatural obsession, Skip,” Lilley said with a roll of his eyes before he turned to Kitty. “Can we get back to inverse functions and shit before he starts to go onto his rant about he swears his doppelganger is on the show?”

 

“I swear to God I’m not kidding!” Skip cried before he received several shushes and evil eyes from the nearby tables.

 

“Skip, pipe down and answer the question,” Kitty snapped in a much sterner tone than before. “We’ve got ten more questions we have to answer for today and at this rate we’re going to be here another hour so let’s get to work gentlemen.”

 

Like a squall in the middle of summer, Midterms had hit Pacific Coast Academy hard, sending students in droves to the library and to cower in their dorm rooms with their noses pressed firmly in-between the pages of a thick textbook. Even those students who claimed they couldn’t be bothered with studying or weren’t worried about their grades, like Ray Person and George Luz, could be seen occasionally flipping through their text books while in their dorm room or suddenly paying attention in their lectures. Other students found themselves with a flock of frantic students who were desperate for a tutor: Kitty Grogan met with a cluster of boys from Hanks House three times a week to work on their math; Webster and his knowledge of literature came into sudden high demand for anyone who was hoping on passing the exam for Lit 1100; Gene Roe was almost always followed by a cluster of pre-med students who would do anything to pass their anatomy exam; And poor Lipton never appeared to have a day off from tutoring, as he seemed to have the complete inability to tell a desperate student no and often didn’t return to his dorm room until midnight.

 

To make matters worse, the middle of October weather was as beautiful as always but everyone knew it was going to be the end of the gorgeous weather, so while everyone wanted to go out and play games on the quad and sit out on the beach in the sunlight, they were forced inside by the threat of good grades.

 

To put it lightly, it was not the best of times at Pacific Coast Academy.

 

 

* * *

 

_Knock, knock, knock!_

 

Merriell looked up from his phone and found Sledge standing in the doorway with some text books under his arm. Eugene smiled when he looked up at him.

 

“You still good to study?” Eugene asked as he took a hesitant step into the room; Merriell couldn’t help but roll his eyes at him. Eugene had been his tutor for almost a month now and no matter how many times he knocked on his door and asked him if he was ready, Eugene always did it as if it were a new thing. It wasn’t just him though that thought this; his roommate, Joe, would make teasing comments whenever he was there for Eugene’s nervous display.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Do you want to study in the library or the lobby or…?” Eugene asked with a shrug; they usually studied in the library but ever since the fear of exams had plagued the campus, the library had become less peaceful than it usually was.

 

“We could study in here if you want,” Merriell shrugged. “I don’t think Joe’s comin’ back for a while. It’s probably quieter here.”

 

“Good point,” Eugene said as he nodded; he then crossed the room and sat down on the floor next to Snafu with his back pressed against the side of his bed. “So what did you want to start off with? Math or English? Or we could study for you psych exam, since it’s coming up first.”

 

“Doesn’t matter,” he answered as he lunged to the side and reached for his overstuffed book bag.

 

No matter how much Snafu hated to admit it, Gene forcing him to get a tutor had been a great idea. Not only was he no longer failing any classes but he was actually doing well in most of them. He had gotten a B on his last math quiz and he knew that he would be able to pass his psychology exam. However, whenever Gene asked him how his grades and tutor sessions where going, he would just respond with a gruff ‘okay I guess’ and end it with that.

 

Snafu glanced at Eugene out of the corner of his eye as he rattled on about the story he was supposed to be reading for the English exam. Eugene was something Snafu never expected to find when he agreed to get a tutor. Eugene was a nice kid, a little formal and shy at times but a nice guy who seemed to be able to deal with Snafu’s mouth and his sullen eye rolls and knew how to get Snafu to keep working out a problem even when he was a second from snapping.

 

“Snaf are you even paying attention to what I’m saying or am I just talking to myself here?” Sledge suddenly asked which broke Snafu out of his thoughts for a moment.

 

“Course I’m paying attention Sledge,” Snafu huffed with a roll of his eyes as he readjusted the book on his lap. “Just trying to soak it all in, okay?”

 

“Paying attention _my ass_ , you were practically sleeping with your eyes open,” Sledge snapped but there was a smile on his face so Snafu knew everything was still fine.

 

“Didn’t you say how different people learn differently? How do you know that’s not how I learn best? You can’t hate on other peoples studying habits, Eugene, it’s unkind.”

 

“You’re an asshole,” Eugene snorted as he grinned and shook his head. “Now pay attention this time Snaf or I’ll sick the Doc on you.”

 

“Yeah right,” he mumbled but he stared down at the book in his hands while he forced his eyes not to glaze over.

 

It was odd. Being with Eugene, it gave him a similar feeling he got when he would be with Gene. But it wasn’t exactly the same as being with Gene, he knew that for sure. He figured it had something to do with the fact that Eugene called him Snafu. No one who called him Snafu had ever been nice or genuine to him. But Eugene just took the odd name without much fight and treated him politely with his sometimes odd proper southern charm.

 

“Shelton I swear to God I’m about a second away from pulling the Doc away from his cult following of med students and bringing him in here to force you to pay attention.”

 

“Sorry, sorry,” he huffed as he rubbed his eyes. “Just not really feeling it today I guess.”

 

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Sledge pulled a face before he let out a deep breath, closed the thick text book on his lap, and shoved it to the side.

 

“Why don’t we take a break from studying for a day?”

 

“What?” Snafu asked in confusion.

 

“Yeah. You’ve been doing really well in your classes and it won’t kill you if you slack off for a day,” Eugene said with a shrug.

 

“Are you sick or something?” Snafu continued with a skeptical look.

 

“No but it’s obvious we aren’t going to get any work done here today so we might as well cut our losses and stop wasting time.”

 

“And what do you suggest we do with this sudden free time?” Snafu asked as he tossed his books from his lap to the corner without a care for how they landed.

 

“How about we go grab some food?” Eugene offered with a shrug. “I skipped lunch today so I’m starving. What do you think?”

 

Snafu turned and stared at Eugene for a moment. He wasn’t exactly a social eater. He rarely went to eat with the guys from his hall and, hell, he had only grabbed lunch with Gene a couple of times since he had been at PCU. And although he and Eugene had gotten closer over the past couple weeks they had never really gone past the tutor and tutee set up they had going on.

 

For a moment, he considered declining with a bogus excuse because Snafu just didn’t have friends; that had never been part of the Snafu persona. However, Snafu Shelton never followed any sort of rules before, so why should he start to follow his own shitty rules now?

 

“Sure,” he said with a nod as he pushed himself up into a standing position. “Where should we go?”

 

Eugene was still for a moment as he looked up at Snafu from his position on the ground; his expression was one of mild surprise as if he did quite believe the words that had come from his mouth. With a roll of his eyes, Snafu nudged Eugene’s thigh with his foot.

 

“Geez, look who’s out of it now,” he said with a smirk. “Let’s get going before I change my mind.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, Snaf, sure” Sledge said sarcastically as he got up from the floor.

 

“You don’t think I’d ditch you in a second?” he asked the other boy as they left the room and began walking down the empty hallway.

 

Eugene turned his head and smiled softly at Snafu for a moment before he answered in such a sincere voice that it made Snafu pause.

 

“Not at all.”

 

* * *

  

“Hey, Lip.”

 

Carwood looked up from where he sat at his desk and saw Joe Toye standing in the doorway with a thick text book under his arm.

 

“Yeah, boy?” he asked as he turned around in his chair. “Got a problem with homework?”

 

“You tested out of Math 1148 right?” he asked as he stomped into the room, looking pissed as usual.

 

“Yeah. Got a question?”

 

“Yeah I got a question: why the fuck do I have to learn about fucking imaginary numbers?” Joe asked as he sat down on the edge of Lip’s bed. “Not only are they fucking _imaginary_ , there’s no practical fucking reason for me learning about them.”

 

“We all gotta go stuff we don’t want to, Joe,” Lip said gently as he grabbed his notebook and a pencil from off his desk. “You’re just going to have to work through it.”

 

It had been about a week since the fear and paranoia that came with exams hit the campus and since the beginning of the week, Lip always seemed to be host to someone from Hanks House while he tried to help them through some difficult subject. It wasn’t like he was an expert on everything but everyone in the dorm just seemed to know that if you had a question or needed a study buddy, you could go to him because even if he didn’t know the answer, he would probably be able to find someone who did.

 

Some students came in at a regular time for help in a certain area, like how Trombley, from the third floor, came to his room at four to look over his history notes every day, and how Johnny Martin, from the fourth floor, came into his room at six to study with him for their exam in Business Calculus. Others, like Compton or Julian or Garza or Walt, would come running into his room at all hours of the day with a random and sometimes frantic question ranging from the molecular structures of certain elements to how many energy drinks a person could drink in one day without dying.

 

Somehow, in-between all the questions and study sessions and panic attacks with other students, Lip had managed to study for his own exams, however, sometimes that involved him staying up way too late in the campus’s library that was open twenty-four-seven. It’s not like he was complaining though; he had no problem with helping out a fellow student. It never occurred to him that he could say no.

 

“What is it with that kid?” Nix asked as he watched yet another student leave Lipton’s room; at least four different guys had gone into his room in the past hour alone. “Is he a genius or does he have a secret stash of test answers? Or a drug stash would explain it too.”

 

“No, kid’s too nice and good to be selling drugs,” Harry said as he leaned his back against the doorframe.

 

“But maybe it’s just a front,” Nix continued as he took a swig from his fast, his own form of coping against the stress of exams.

 

“Nah, I think his niceness is actually genuine,” Harry said before he reached out towards Nixon’s flask; there was a moment of indecision in Nixon’s dark eyes before he sighed and handed it over to the shorter man. “Word in the dorm is that he’s pretty damn smart and about nine kinds of helpful. Patient as anything apparently too.”

 

“Poor kid hasn’t had a damn break all week,” Nix said as he thought about the last week and how the damn kid’s door was always open with people trickling in and out all day and night. “Doesn’t he have any time to study for his own exams?”

 

“I saw him coming back to his room at one in the morning last night,” Harry said with a shake of his head. “He’s running himself ragged trying to be mister helpful.”

 

“Who is this that you’re talking about?”

 

“Shit!”

 

“What the-?!”

 

Harry and Nix jumped up in surprised and turned to find Ron Speirs crouched behind him, his sharp eyes peering curiously down the hall. It was not the first time Nixon’s roommate had snuck up behind them; it was such a common occurrence that Nix started his creation of theories on if Speirs was a ninja or not.

 

“Dammit, you made me spill,” Nixon cursed as he brought his alcohol-soaked hand to his mouth in an attempt to salvage some of the lost booze from his flask.

 

“It’s not like you don’t have a case stashed in your footlocker,” Speirs said apathetically while his green eyes continued to stare down the hallway. “Who were you talking about?”

 

“Uh, Lip,” Harry answered with a sigh. “Lives down the hall. He’s just been helping the entire dorm out with studying for exams.”

 

“And?” Speirs asked.

 

“It’s just… odd,” Lewis said with a shrug. “I mean not that many people are just that nice and helpful. Kid spends all day helping out others and then stays up late so he can get his own work done.”

 

“Kid’s a saint,” Harry added with a shake of his head. “Makes the rest of us look bad.”

 

“What’s it matter if he’s making you look bad? Who are you trying to impress?” Lew asked with a scoff.

 

“No one I just- _hey!_ ” Harry yelped when Ron slid in between the two of them and began walking down the hallway.

 

The two men watched as Ron breezed down the hall, stopped in front of Lipton’s room for a moment, peered inside, and then retreated down the hallway. There was a slightly twisted smile on Ron’s face as he walked back and it only served to creep Lewis the fuck out.

 

“What are you so happy about?” he asked as Speirs stepped over them and went back into the room.

 

“Christianson was in there with Lipton and saw me,” Speirs answered as he sat down at his desk with his back to them. “Kid jumped a foot in the air when he saw me walk by.”

 

“You take way too much enjoyment over scaring poor children,” Harry said as Speirs pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up.

 

“They’d do it no matter what I did so I may as well learn to enjoy it,” he said as he blew smoke out of the window.

 

“Guys got a point,” Nix said before he tipped his flask back and drained it. “Need a refill.”

 

“No you don’t,” Harry said with a roll of his eyes while he reached out to stop Lewis from getting up again. “The only refill you need is of the food variety. Let’s go grab some grub before the hall closes.”

 

“Fine, fine,” Nix said as he pulled himself up into a standing position. “Yo, Ron, you wanna come with us?”

 

“No thanks,” Speirs said without looking at them.

 

“Whatever,” Nix said before he and Harry began to walk towards the stairwell. As he went to open the door to the stairwell, the door lurched open and revealed to him his boyfriend, Dick. “Hey there, stranger,” he said as a smile stretched across his face and Harry made a retching noise, “Where have you been all day?”

 

“Study group,” Dick answered as he readjusted his stuffed book bag.

 

“Ah, well, you wanna grab some dinner with me and Harry?”

 

“Sorry, I would but I just got something to eat with the guys in my study group,” Dick said apologetically. “Reign check?”

 

“Sure,” Nix said.

 

“Can we go before I lose my appetite?” Harry snapped just as Nixon leaned closer to Dick, most likely in preparation to kiss the man.

 

“Oh because you and Kitty are never gross and overly disgustingly happy,” Nix said as he gave the smaller red-haired man a shove towards the stairs.

 

“No. We’re always undeniably adorable and you wish you were as cute as us.”

 

“Sure, Kitty’s cute but you just completely counteract her cute and weight you guys down.”

 

“Oh piss off you asshole.”

 

Dick shook his head as he listened to the voices of the two people who were closest to him at PCU disappear down the steps and went to toss his book bag onto his bed. He looked across the hall and saw Ron smoking as he sat on the edge of the window sill. While he really didn’t care about smoking, it was still against dorm guidelines and if he accidentally set off the fire alarm system it would just open a whole new can of worms on the problem at hand.

 

“Ron,” Dick said as he walked into his friend’s room. “You know you can’t smoke in here.”

 

“Almost done, Dick,” he said as he waved the almost finished smoke towards him. “Just needed a quick one.”

 

“What’s on your mind?” he asked as he sat down on the edge of Lew’s bed; he knew Ron and he could tell when there was something wrong with him.

 

“Nothing,” Ron said.

 

Dick could tell he was lying but he wasn’t one to pry and Ronald Speirs was not one to fess up information when they didn’t want to. So with a sigh, Dick got up from his seat and clapped Ron on the back with his hand.

 

“If you need to talk, I’m right across the hall.”

 

“I’m aware of that, Dick.”

 

“And put that out before Luz catches you and suddenly thinks it’s okay to smoke on the floor,” Dick said with a slight groan. “I’ve had to write that kid up twice for smoking in the dorms.”

 

Grinning slightly, Ron stamped the almost spent cigarette on the window sill before he flicked it out the window.

 

* * *

  

“Joe? You signed up for a tutor?” David asked as he stared down at Joe Liebgott, who sat at the designated library table with a closed literature book in front of him.

 

“What? Is it a crime to need help in a college class?” Joe asked as he leaned back in his seat.

 

“No, it’s just….”

 

“Just what?”

 

“Just didn’t expect it from you is all,” Web said quietly as he sat down his own books and notebooks on the table and sat down across from Joe.

 

“What’s so unexpected about me signing up for a tutor?” he asked with a slight sneer on his face. “Didn’t think I’d be able to accept the fact that I needed help or something?”

 

“No… more like I didn’t peg you for a guy who took literature classes,” Web muttered without looking at Joe.

 

“Well I am and I need a tutor so tutor me, Web,” Joe said as he leaned back in his chair again. “Word on campus is that you’re pretty damn smart when it comes to this whole literature shit.”

 

“Well I am a literature major.”

 

“Good to hear, so get to teaching, Web,” Joe said as he kicked his feet onto the top of the table.

 

Webster scowled at his feet and swatted at them before he opened his own books. Joe made a face at him but slowly moved his feet from off of the table but didn’t refrain from brushing his foot against Web’s under the table, which made Web squirm slightly and made Joe smirk. Web glanced up from his book just in time to catch the tail end of Joe’s devilish smirk while left him with a bad feeling in the pit of his gut.

 

“So uh, who- who’s your professor, again, Joe?” Web stuttered out as he shuffled through his papers.

 

“Can’t really remember the name,” Joe said with a shrug.

 

“You don’t know your own professor’s name?” David asked in complete disbelief. “Joe, we’re eight weeks into the semester don’t you think you should know your professors name by now?”

 

“Does it really matter?” he asked with another blasé shrug. “It’s a big lecture hall, not like high school where they had their names written all over the walls, ya know. It’s the same damn class no matter the teacher so what’s it matter if I don’t know who they are?”

 

“Well it matters because despite what you may think, not all of the professors have the same exam. In fact, most professors have multiple versions of the exam to prevent cheating so I don’t know how you expect me to help you efficiently if I don’t know your professor, Joe.”

 

“Alright, alright, don’t get your panties in a twist, Web,” Joe said with a roll of his eyes. “How about we call it a day for this study session, I’ll find out my teacher’s name for the next time, and in the meantime how about we go grab a bite to eat or something.”

 

David stared at Joe, not sure of what to say or do. First of all, he rarely talked to Joe Liebgott. On the random occasions when they did talk it usually started because of an accident and ended with Joe shamelessly brushing against him or saying some lewd comment that made him uncomfortable and leave. They weren’t friends, in the two months that they had lived on the fifth floor of Hanks House together they had barely talked at all. Somewhere in-between the accidental run-ins that started their brief conversations and the inappropriate moves from Joe that ended their talks, the two men tended to get into an argument over some odd topic; it could be the noise levels in the hallways, the food on campus, or even the fucking weather, it didn’t matter, they always seemed to be able to fight because of something. So because of their past experiences, he felt that them being able to hold polite conversation over a meal was completely and utterly out of the question.

 

“Uh I don’t think so, Joe,” David declined as politely as he could manage.

 

“Why not?” Liebgott asked as he leaned forward so that now his face was only a few inches away from David’s.

 

“I am _rather_ busy, Joe, what with all the other people I have to tutor and not to mention me finding time to prepare for my own exams, and I really do not have the time to chit-chat over lunch,” David stated as he began putting his books and notes back into his backpack without looking at Joe. “So I’m sorry but if I’m able to find some spare time I should really take advantage of it.”

 

“How about a reign check?” Liebgott asked quietly as he watched David pack up his things.

 

David paused with his backpack halfway on his back and turned to look at Joe. His stomach twisted uneasily while his mind spun with confusion; why the hell was Joe Liebgott so fucking interested in hanging out with him all of a sudden? It just didn’t make sense.

 

“Look, Joe, I’m sorry but, I just don’t see why we should get lunch together. I mean, do we even have anything in common?”

 

“Maybe we do. But how would you know if you don’t wanna try to talk to me?”

 

“I _have_ tried and you know how it ends? With you rubbing your hands over me or saying something just to make me uncomfortable and then I have to leave,” he said as he hiked his backpack onto his shoulders.

 

“Not always,” Joe said from his seat with a small frown on his face.

 

“Oh, right, and the other times end with an argument,” he said with a snort. “Sorry if I don’t want to take that into public.”

 

“Oh what the fuck ever, Web. You’re just worried one of your special Newspaper friends will see us and think you’re a lesser person because of it or something.”

 

“I am not!” he exclaimed before he was shushed by a harassed-looking librarian and several stressed-out students which caused him to flush with mild embarrassment. “Who my friends see with me doesn’t matter.”

 

“Uh huh, keep telling yourself that.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked with a raised voice again which caused another round of dirty looks to be thrown his way. Shaking his head, he turned away from Joe and muttered to himself, “I don’t need this.”

 

“Well I’ll be seeing ya, Web!” Joe called after him with a smile and a wave, not caring about the looks he was gaining from his raised voice. “You know, Thursday at four o’clock.”

 

“What are you talking about?” David asked as he stopped in his tracks.

 

“I requested a tutor for today and Thursday so since today was a bust, I’ll be seeing you on Thursday, ready to learn and have my mind molded by the brilliant David Webster.”

 

“Yeah, right. Are you even in a literature class, Joe? Or are you just fucking with me?”

 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

 

Feeling his anger and frustration spike again, David forced out a breath, turned back around, and marched out of the library. If he was sure of anything, it was that he would not be tutoring Joe Liebgott on Thursday, no matter what.

 

* * *

  

“Babe, can we please go do something? I’m dying of boredom here!” Julian whined as he lay on top of his bed while Babe sat at his desk, long nose buried deep inside one of his textbooks.

 

“Does it look like I’m not doing anything?” Babe asked with a roll of his eyes without looking at his friend. “I’m busy here. Go bother someone else for a change.”

 

“But I wanna do something with _you_ , _Babe_ ,” Julian groaned as he rolled around on his bed, looking very much like a bored, silly puppy. “You’ve been so damn busy studying-”

 

“It’s exams, Jules, and unlike you I actually wanna do good on them,” Babe snapped as he scratched the back of his head with a pen.

 

“Excuses, excuses,” Julian sighed as he began to repeatedly toss a ball into the air. “Not to mention you keep dissing me for you little ginger twin buddy down the hall-”

 

“Oh so a guy’s not allowed to make friends? Jealous much?”

 

“Not jealous. Hurt. Hurt that our lifelong friendship can be easily thrown away at the sight of a guy who’s kinda eerily similar to you… appearance-wise; no one’s as much of an asshole as you, Babe.”

 

“Gee, thanks.”

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

“You got a point or are ya done rambling?” Babe asked as he reached out to grab one of his many notebooks. “Cus I gotta say, I’d like you to be done.”

 

“Not even close,” Julian said as he began to bounce the ball off of the wall, which caused an annoying thumping noise that just pissed Babe off. “Back to what I was saying earlier, you totally ditch me all the time for your buddy Eugene-”

 

“That was _one time_ and it was either grab a completely civil lunch with Eugene or play beer-pong with you, Luz, and Ray.”

 

“And why the hell would you turn that down for a simple fucking lunch?!”

 

Hoping to get this conversation over with, Babe turned around in his chair and gave the sulking teen a look of great exasperation.

 

“It was one in the afternoon, on a _Tuesday_. I had class at three,” Babe said slowly. “Sorry if I’m not always in top condition to fuck around, especially when I have classes that I actually need to go to.”

 

“Whatever,” Julian sighed as he rolled off of the bed. “I guess I’ll go find someone awesomer who loves me.”

 

“I’m sure you’ll find someone somewhere, Jules, you always do,” Babe said with a sigh and a shake of his head as his friend and roommate exited the room.

 

Julian walked out into the deserted hallway and began meandering down it while he looked for an open door. If he was sure of anything in this world it was that Exams sucked more than anything. Sure, he had studied from time to time, had gone over some study guides for his classes, he just wasn’t as hung up about his exams at some of the others were. He just wished he could manage to find one guy who wasn’t so afraid of failure that he was balls deep in his textbooks; he really was dying of boredom. Thankfully, Julian found his answer in room 511 in the form of George Luz, who was splayed out on top of his bed and appeared to be in a similar state of intense boredom.

 

“Yo, Luz!” Julian said as he poked his head inside and knocked on the door. “You doing anything?”

 

“What the fuck does it look like to you, Julian?” he asked sarcastically as he sat up.

 

“You wanna raise a little mayhem?” he asked with a devilish smile.

 

“That’s like the dumbest question ever; of course I do. What do you have in mind?”

 

“It’s gotta be something good,” Julian said as he walked into the room and sat down on the corner of George’s bed. “We’ve been on R.A. lock down since the party and that was weeks ago.”

 

“Perfect time too, what with everyone being on edge from the exams coming up. We gotta lighten the mood. Serve to the mental wellbeing of our fellow dorm mates,” George said as his brown eyes twinkled with mischief.

 

“Well, let’s get to planning. Lena just did her round on the floor five minutes ago and Dick’s not set to be back for another hour at least.”

 

“So what were you thinking we should start with?” George asked.

 

“I know heard Ray has a whole trunk of fireworks in his room, or at least he said he did,” Julian said. “We could start with that.”

 

“Fireworks, nice. I don’t know about you but I’m thinking a little impromptu fireworks display on the roof tonight,” he said as he scratched at the very light scruff on his chin; George claimed the facial hair was hours old but everyone knew he had been trying to grow out his scraggly peach fuzz for days.

 

“Something to lighten the mood and give a nice distraction. But do we really wanna get caught on the roof again?” Julian asked. “I just finished my community service like, last week and I’m not about to get my ass saddled with another fifty hours in the middle of exam time. Maybe we should set it off in the Quad? Everyone could still see it.”

 

“I was thinking more along the lines of tying all the fireworks together in row and setting them off with some sort of time delay, so we had time to get our asses off the roof before they went off.”

 

“That’s fucking genius man.”

 

“Thank you, sir,” George said with a tip of an imaginary hat. “But let’s go see if Person actually has the goods, or else we’re gonna have to think of something else.”

 

“What room is Ray in?” Julian asked as the two of them headed for the stairs.

 

“Lemme check my phone, I wrote it down somewhere,” George said as they ran down the stairs. “I know he’s on the third floor.”

 

Two minutes later, George and Julian stood outside room 301 while they wore looks of intense confusion on their faces.

 

“Are… are you sure Ray said 301?” Julian asked.

 

“Yeah, got the text right here,” George said as he waved his iPhone in the air. “Wasn’t even drunk when he texted me this.”

 

“Should we… should we knock?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

This fucking didn’t make sense to George. Mostly because Ray Person, the hyperactive, obnoxious, number one trouble maker of Hanks House, could not in any way shape or form, no matter what alternate universe, could possibly be living in the same dorm room as Brad Colbert, resident hard-ass, Iceman, and fun-killer extraordinaire.

 

“Brad and Ray… are _roommates?_ ” Julian asked, his brow furrowed in complete confusion. “Damn, if this doesn’t sound like a bad sitcom then I don’t know what would.”

 

“Maybe Ray’s fucking with us?” George muttered as he looked around the floor for someone who might be able to answer their questions. Unfortunately for them the first floor was more deserted than the fifth floor. “Come on, Julian. Let’s quit being fucking wimps and just knock on the goddamn door.”

 

“Go for. I’m not incurring the wrath of Colbert.”

 

“Fine, pansy,” George mumbled before he rolled his eyes and knocked on the door.

 

There was a slight pause and then George heard footsteps. For a panic-inducing moment, George thought the footsteps sounded heavy, like ones that might belong to a certain Brad Colbert, but when the door opened Ray Person stood on the other side.

 

“What’s up fellas?” he asked with a wide smile as he opened the door wider to allow them inside.

 

“Nothing much, we were just wondering if you had those fireworks you mentioned a little while ago?” George asked as he and Julian stood in the doorway; neither guy seemed willing to walk into the physical representation of their confusion.

 

“Looking to living up this dead zone of a dorm? Exams fucking suck homes,” Ray said as he walked over to his bed, kneeled down, and began digging underneath it. After a moment, Ray paused in his searching and looked over his shoulder to find George and Julian still standing in the doorway. “Dudes, you can come in. I know the presence of Bradley is intimidating and all but really, the most terrifying thing in this room is whatever the fuck is growing at the bottom of my clothes hamper.”

 

As George and Julian walked into the room, he couldn’t help but see the clear divide in the room. Rays side was, as expected, a fucking pigsty. Clothes were thrown all over his half of the room, energy drink cans laid crumpled around the trashcan, and a number of posters were hung messily over the walls, most of them were of scantily clad women but other were of sport cars and music posters, ranging from Nelly to Johnny Cash to freaking Avril Lavigne. Brad’s side on the other hand was spotless. The bed was made with military precision, his desk was organized with every pen and notebook in its place, even the carpeting on his side of the room looked straighter, as if someone had meticulously straightened out the fibers so that they all went the same direction.

 

It was a very confusing but interesting picture to say the least.

 

“Ah, here they are,” Ray said as he emerged from underneath his bed with a large box in his hands. “Beautiful babies, I had to hide them or Bradley would pitch a fit and make me get rid of them.”

 

“I can imagine,” George muttered.

 

“Now I gotta ask… how are you and Colbert fucking roommates?” Julian asked after a brief moment of silence. “Like, Brad’s a sophomore, right? Well, as an R.A. he can have his own room right? So it’s not like you got stuck with him because of the random roommate lottery. How did this shit happen?”

 

“Yeah and how are you not like dead by now?” George asked which caused Ray to smile and shake his head slightly. “I thought you two like, hated each other.”

 

“It’s kind of a funny story actually,” Ray said as began sorting through his box of fireworks. “I mean, yeah at some points Brad really wants to strangle me, but he’s actually a big softy once you get through all the muscles and icy exterior. But believe it or not Brad actually saved my life if you can believe that shit.”

 

“What?”

 

“When?”

 

“When I was five and he was six,” Ray said with a nod as George and Julian made faces of confusion and disbelief. “I wanted to chase my fucking ball into the street like any dumb kid and Brad stopped me just as some asshole came barreling down the street. Guy hasn’t been able to shake me since.”

 

“What?”

 

“Yeah. True shit. Sometimes when Brad’s really pissed at me he claims he should have let _Natural Selection_ do its work with me when we were little but I know he would be lost without me. Without me, his life would be one boring day after another.”

 

“So like… you two have known each other for like, ever?”

 

“Mmm, basically.  Ever since his family moved into the house next to mine when we were kids, we’ve seen or talked to each other almost every day, except for of course when he left for college last year, but we still kept in touch then,” he answered. “I actually wasn’t gonna go to college. I planned on trying to make it big with my band, we had a pretty good following and I think we could have done it, but Bradley had a fucking fit when I told him I wasn’t planning on going to college. But I told him I would only go if I could be his roommate and like, he acted for the longest damn time that it wasn’t gonna happen but you can see how that shit turned out in the end. You guys may think Brad Colbert as some big, scary G.I. Joe/Nordic God offspring but inside, he’s just a big softy kid from butt-fuck nowhere Missouri. Anyways, shall we get these set up before Brad’s ears start to burn and he comes bursting in here?”

 

“Uh, yeah, good idea,” George said as he shook his head in an attempt to straighten out all of the new and confusing information Ray had just dropped on him. “I don’t want to get caught and get even more hours in the middle of exams.”

 

“Community service ain’t shit,” Ray said as he lifted the box and headed for the door. “After the stunt on the roof Brad made me clean every inch of the room from top to bottom. Had to fucking scrub the ceiling with a toothbrush and straighten out of the carpet fibers with a fucking comb according to his OCD likings.”

 

“Must be fucking intense living with a guy like that.”

 

“Ya learn to deal with it. Not to mention I’ve got thirteen years of dealing with the guy.”

 

“I still can’t wrap my head around you guys not only being roommates but being friends from back home,” George said as they began to climb the stairs that lead to the roof.

 

“Me and Brad are fucking BFF’s. Like we have secret friendship bracelets and everything. I’ll show you later. I got them for us when I was fifteen and I know Brad wants me to think he tossed his but I know for a fact it’s in his fucking top drawer under his clothes, the fucking sap.”

 

“Whatever you say, Ray,” George said. “Let’s just get these fireworks underway.”

 

* * *

  

“I can’t wait until these exams are over with,” Stella said as she flipped through the pages of her text book.

 

“You’re not the only one,” Leckie said as he smiled up at her from where his head rested in her lap.

 

Leckie and Stella had taken their books and study guides and decided that they would take advantage of the nice weather and attempt to study outside in an abandoned corner of the Quad. Granted, they hadn’t gotten a lot of actual studying done but Leckie knew it wouldn’t kill him if he took a couple hours out of his studying time to enjoy this beautiful girl.

 

“I can’t wait to go back home,” Stella said as she tossed her book to the side with a little huff of annoyance. Stella placed her hands in Leckie’s curly hair and began stroking it softly. “I miss my mama and papa so much. I don’t know if I’ll be able to wait until Thanksgiving to go back home. Maybe once all these exams are done I’ll go… what about you, Bob?”

 

“What was that?” Leckie asked, having gotten distracted in the wonderful sensation of Stella’s finger playing with his curls.

 

“I was saying how I can’t wait until I can go back home to see my mama and my papa. What about you, Bob? Are you excited? Your family lives so far away, it must be hard for you.”

 

“Not really, actually,” Leckie said as he fumbled in his pocket for his pack of cigarettes. “Me and my family…we don’t really get along. It’s hard to miss someone you don’t really get along with.”

 

“Lots of people don’t get along with their family but they still miss them,” Stella said as he fingers still in his hair and he lit a cigarette. “What’s so bad about them?”

 

“Nothing really except… except they just don’t _care._ About anything,” Leckie said slowly as he thought back to his home and his family.

 

“What do you mean?” Stella asked.

 

“They don’t care. They’re all just fucking emotionally numb to fucking everything and anything they come in contact with,” Leckie snapped as he flicked cigarette ash onto the ground. “Somebody accidentally says something insensitive or rude, everyone just fucking ignores it because no one wants to start a fight. They’re all just so fucking crippled in the head… I can’t deal with them for long.”

 

“Is that why you came to school so far away from home?”

 

“Basically.”

 

“How big is your family?”

 

“There are seven kids in the Leckie brood. Five girls and two boys,” he answered as he snuffed his cigarette down into the dirt next to him. “I’m the youngest. So naturally, after all those kids, my parents would be tired out but…”

 

“But what?”

 

“Nothing,” he said before he forced a smile to his face and looked up at Stella’s pretty face. “What about you? Do you and your family get along? What’s your family like?”

 

“It’s just me, my mama, and my papa, and we get along very well,” Stella answered with a soft smile. “And my parents don’t really have any family so it’s usually just us when it comes to holidays.”

 

“Sounds perfect to me,” Leckie said as he thought back to his number of overcrowded family gatherings. “Just my immediate family alone is nine people plus my two older sister’s husbands and my brother’s girlfriend and my niece and nephew and it’s just a mess if any cousins or aunts and uncles stop by.”

 

“It sounds fun to me,” Stella said with a giggle.

 

“Yeah well your family get-together sounds better to me.”

 

“Well maybe…”

 

“Maybe what?”

 

“Maybe, if you wanted, you could come to Thanksgiving with me and my parents,” Stella said slowly. Leckie blinked up at her in surprised for a moment before she plowed on quickly while a slight blush crept across her cheeks. “I mean, it would make the most sense for you if you did, fiscally speaking first of all. You wouldn’t have to fly all the way back to New Jersey just to fly all the way back here a couple of days later. Plane tickets cost a lot of money and we could just take a bus back for twenty dollars each. But you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m just offering because I know my parents wouldn’t care if you came, they love guests and we have a spare guest room and there’s always extras and-”

 

Stella was cut off by Leckie sitting up and kissing her. When he broke away there was a wide grin on his face and a twinkle in his eyes that made Stella grin wildly.

 

“Sounds great to me,” Leckie said. “Now I can’t wait either.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Really.”

 

Stella gripped Leckie’s face and kissed him. He responded my wrapping his arms around her, which caused them to tumble to the ground together as they kissed and laughed. Sometime later when Leckie was back in his dorm room alone, he couldn’t help but think that maybe once he would actually have a holiday that he was actually enjoy and care to remember.

 

* * *

  

“So I’m like eighty percent sure I just failed my literature exam,” Skip said as he tossed his bad down on the floor and sat down in the seat next to Malarkey.

 

“What makes you say that?” Don asked as he dug into his bag of chips.

 

“Maybe the fact that I didn’t know what the fuck to put for the essay question and guessed on half of the matching,” he sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair.

 

“Well here’s to hoping for one hell of a curve,” Don said as he raised his soda bottle in the air.

 

“You ain’t kidding.”

 

The students of Pacific Coast University couldn’t hide from exams and study forever; they were bound to hit sometime. Students across the campus found themselves in different states of readiness. Ralph Spina, who had been studying every day for his Anatomy midterm for a week straight, told anyone who listen how quickly he sped through it and George Luz would complain to everyone how much time he wasted studying for his theater exam and claimed that it had been the easiest exam in all of history. Others however, were not so prepared for their midterms. Hoosier, from the fourth floor, claimed that his math professor screwed them all over on purpose with not giving them a proper study guide to follow and Hamm, from the third floor, couldn’t help but blame himself when he flubbed his history exam. However, bad grades and over studying did not seem that important after they heard about Gibson’s complete mental breakdown over the test anxiety. Nobody was quite sure what happened but Gibson’s roommate, Hoobler, claimed that Gibson had snapped after coming back from an exam and ended throwing most of his books and notes around the room and cracked their window and broke both of their desk chairs in the process. Hoobler said that Gibson would be moved to a private room for the time being but no one was sure if the kid would even go back to classes next week.

 

Most of the time after exams was spent celebrating, cheers to good grades for some and better luck next round for others. After over a solid week of quiet and panic-induced study sessions filled the dorm, the celebrations seemed ten times louder than any other given weekend. Pizza boxes and soda cans littered the hallways once again and music and loud sounds from televisions poured out into the halls from the rooms. Guys crashed in each other’s rooms and nobody seemed to care about when quiet hours were. Everyone was just glad to finally be able to blow off some steam, along with blowing off some fireworks.

 

George Luz was currently enjoying the post-midterm party from his spot on his dorm room floor while he sipped a heavily spiked soda and watched as Joe Toye and Liebgott battled it on out Frank’s Xbox. It was all pretty great, relaxing after so much stress and lack of entertainment. Not caring about the no smoking in the dorm rule, George pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one; he had taken the batteries out of his smoke detector long ago and the window was open.

 

“Cheers to the hell of exams being over!” George yelled as he raised his drink in the air.

 

“Yeah well I hope you realize there are exams again in like, another seven weeks,” Frank said as he jammed away at his controller.

 

“Yeah well that’s like, seven weeks away,” Luz said with a roll of his eyes. “Way to poke holes in my celebration, Perco.”

 

“That’s what I’m here for, Luz. Keep you grounded.”

 

“Well now’s not a time to be grounded, now’s a time for obnoxious celebration and drinking and decadence,” Luz said before he blew a stream of smoke at Frank, who batted it away in annoyance.

 

“Yeah that is until you find out how badly you actually did on you exams and then it’s a time for crying and pleading with your professors and awkward calls to your parents.”

 

“Ya know, fuck you, Frank, for your information I got a ninety-four on my English exam and a ninety on my math exam.”

 

“Yeah well, you can go thank Lip for busting his ass with helping you on your exams,” Frank said before he reached out and swiped the smoke out of Luz’s mouth and took a puff.

 

“You know what? I think I will do just that,” Luz said as he stood up on slightly unsteady feet; he had already had a couple of drinks today. “And then I won’t have to hear your bullshit.”

 

“Good. Get out of here. We’re tired of your drunken ass.”

 

“I’m not drunk,” Luz said as he downed the rest of his drink.

 

“Yeah right,” Joe said with a roll of his eyes. “You’re one drink away from stripping down and singing Miley Cyrus while you run down the hallway.”

 

“That was one time,” Luz said before he tossed his empty cup into his overflowing garbage can and wobbled out into the hall.

 

The hallway was packed and he just barely managed to dodge a low-flying Frisbee but somehow he managed to stumble down to Lipton’s dorm room, but found the door closed. He turned around and looked for someone who could solve his problem.

 

“Hey…hey, Babe,” George called out as he saw the shock of red hair pass him; Babe lived across the hall from Lip, he should have an idea of where the guy was. “You know where Lip is?”

 

“I dunno. Ask Jay, he’s down in Muck and Penkala’s room,” Babe said with a shrug as he motioned over his shoulder. “Why are you looking for him?”

 

“Gotta thank him for all the help he gave me, wouldn’t have passed my exams without him.”

 

Once down the hall, George found a large gathering of students in Muck and Penkala’s room. Twelve or so students sat and stood around the room while Compton and Malarkey sat in front of the television and hammered away at a now archaic N64. Thankfully, Jay stood near the back against the wall.

 

“Where’s Lip?!” George yelled over the yells of his dorm mates and the noises from the television.

 

“He’s in the room,” Jay answered back. “He came back a couple hours ago and just passed out on his bed. Poor guy’s exhausted. Thought it would be best to just let him sleep. Why are you asking?”

 

“Need to thank him for helping me this week!”

 

“Luz, wait,” Jay said as he reached out and grabbed Luz’s shoulder. “Why don’t you just wait until he wakes up? Let the poor kid get some sleep.”

 

“Because anyone is getting any sleep in this noise?!” George asked as he motioned around to the screaming guys and the people who ran around outside in the hallway. “It’ll be fine.”

 

“…just don’t fucking puke in my room, Luz,” Jay sighed as he watched George stumble out of the room and back down the hallway.

 

George stumbled his way back to room 508, opened the door, and walked inside. Unfortunately for him and his intoxicated state of mind, the room was almost pitch black and even in a sober state George was a little bit of a klutz, which meant that in his state, two steps into the room and he was falling to the ground after he tripped over something heavy.

 

“Fuck!” he shouted as he tumbled loudly to the ground.

 

“Who’s there?” a rough, sleepy voice asked.

 

There was a brief pause where Luz tried to untangle himself from whatever tripped him and then a soft bed-side lamp flicked on and revealed Lipton. Lip laid in his bed but had raised himself up onto his elbows; his thin sandy locks were a mess and his face was grey and his cheeks were flushed. He had never seen the guy look so run down.

 

“You okay, Lip?” Luz asked as he finally managed to free himself and stood up. “You don’t look so hot.”

 

“Just a cold or something,” Lip said as he laid back down and curled in on himself on his side. A loud coughing fit ripped through the room. “Got run down from exams or something.”

 

“You look a little more than just run-down,” Luz said as Lip coughed roughly again. “You seem like you have the flu or something.”

 

“Luz, I’m-I’m fine,” Lip wheezed as he buried himself further under his blankets. “Just need to rest is all.”

 

“Dude, what you need is some fucking Nyquil and a batch of Mama Luz’s homemade chicken noodle soup,” Luz said as he walked over to Lipton’s bed and threw a blanket that had fallen to the ground over his shivering form. He then reached out and placed a hand on his friend’s forehead and found it hot to the touch.  “You’re burning up, Lip.”

 

“M’fine. Let me sleep.”

 

“No, you took care of me with my exams so now I’m gonna take care of you so you can get better,” he said firmly.

 

“George, thanks for the offer but-”

 

“Just stay here,” George said as he took a step backwards. “My mom forced a whole pharmacy on me. I’ll get you some meds and an extra blanket or two, and then I’ll go run down to the food hall and grab you some soup.”

 

“Luz-”

 

“Be right back!”

 

Coughing weakly and shivering almost violently, Carwood wrapped his blankets tighter around his body before he buried into his pillow. George meant well, he knew, but really he just needed some damn peace and quiet and he knew he would be good as new in a day or two.

 

* * *

  

Ron Speirs scanned over the guys who ran through the fifth floor hallway. Occasionally, someone would realize he was there and instantly swerve away from him with fear or uneasiness in their eyes. Two months and the highly exaggerated rumors of him had spread to every student in Hanks House and well across the campus. It didn’t matter though. The people that mattered, like Dick and Harry and even Nix, they knew the truth and that’s all that really mattered.

 

A door slammed and caught his attention. He turned and watched as a clearly tipsy George Luz stumbled out of one of the dorms, meandered down the crowded hallway, and into his room. A minute later, Luz emerged from his room, weighted down with two comforters, a couple of sheets, and a throw blanket, while his roommate, Perconte, shouted at him from the doorway. Ron continued to watch as Luz made his way back to the room he had previously exited before he disappeared inside of it. No one seemed to really notice or care that Luz had just carried what appeared to be his and his roommates bedding down the hall. Feeling suddenly curious, Ron shoved his nearly full beer into Harry’s nearby hands, ignored his squawk of protest, and walked down the hall towards the room Luz had just disappeared into. The door was cracked, so Ron gave the door a gentle push and it opened slowly with a slight squeak that was almost unheard in the din of the hallway. Inside he was met with an interesting sight.

 

“Luz, I said, I’m okay,” Lipton wheezed as Luz bent over him and began tucking the multiple layers of blankets around his body.

 

“No you’re not, Lip, you’re burning up and you sound like you’re about to cough up a lung,” Luz said as he continued to fuss with the state of Lipton’s bed. “I’m here to take care of you, just like you took care of me. That’s what friends do.”

 

“You’re trying to kill me, Luz!” Lipton coughed as he weakly tried to push Luz away. “Friends don’t kill friends. You’re going to smother me! I’m already hot enough as it is.”

 

“Mama Luz’s technique to solving a fever is to sweat it out, so we gotta get you nice and warm.”

 

“I feel like I’m in an oven,” Lipton moaned as he rolled over in resignation. When he spoke again, his voice came out muffled by the blankets. “Do you even know how to take care of a person or are you just drunk and making it up as you go?”

 

“A: yes I am drunk… kinda. I’m like, tipsy. Whatever. And B: I’ll have you know I have _nine_ younger siblings and do you know how many times I’ve had to take care of them? And also, do you know how many times I’ve had to take care of them while _drunk_? Yeah, I know what I’m doing, Lip,” Luz said in a bossy tone.

 

“As reassuring as that is, you really don’t have to take care of me,” Lipton said in a weak and ragged voice. “I’ll be fine.”

 

“Like hell you are. Look at you! You look like death!”

 

“Thanks for the pick me up, George.”

 

Lipton then let out a loud coughing fit which not only made Luz jump but alerted Speirs to how sick the guy was. Once Lipton was done coughing and Luz began fussing over a bottle of water, Ron let out a firm cough that alerted his presence to both boys. Luz, as expected, jumped and immediately froze up; he looked very much like a deer caught in headlights. Lipton, however, just looked at him with a sort of blank confusion, almost as if he couldn’t tell if what he was seeing was real or if it was just a part of the fever. He didn’t look alarmed though, which was a first for Ron, just completely confused.

 

“What are you up to, Luz?” he asked in the deadly calm voice the sent a chill down the backs of most students who knew his name.

 

“Uh, Lip is sick… sir,” Luz said in a tone that clearly wanted to be calm but was faltering. “I just wanted to make sure he was okay. Right thing to do and all.”

 

Speirs nodded before he took a couple steps towards Luz, his hands placed firmly behind his back and his face a mask. He stopped a few feet away from Luz and towered over the shorter guy.

 

“Have you been drinking?” he asked as he leaned in closer to Luz. He wanted to smirk as Luz flinched but he kept his face neutral. “You’re in no condition to take care of Lipton here, you can barely look after yourself.”

 

“I’m fine, I swear, I had like, one drink. More like a half a drink really!” Luz exclaimed as he raised his hands in defense.

 

“Say that alphabet backwards.”

 

“Wha… what?”

 

“Alphabet. Backwards. Now.” Speirs ordered. “Or, you can go back to your room and leave Lipton alone before I report you to Winters for underage drinking.”

 

Luz’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he closed his mouth, glanced at Lipton over his shoulder, and then sighed.

 

“Fine,” Luz said quietly. He gave Lipton one more parting look before he walked around Speirs and left the room.

 

“Thanks,” Lipton wheezed, which caught his attention. He turned back and looked at the pale, sickly young man, who was almost completely buried under all of the blankets. “George means well but sometimes he overkills it…”

 

“What’s wrong with you?” Speirs asked in a softer tone as he took a step closer to Lipton.

 

“Just a bug, nothing to worry about,” he said. “Just need some rest and I’ll be all good.”

 

“Are you sure about that, Lipton?” he asked as he took yet another step forwards.

 

“Yeah. I just overworked myself studying for the exams. It happens.”

 

“Heard you were more than just studying, Lipton,” he said as he stood next to the bed. “Heard you were helping out a lot of students out in this dorm. Spent more time helping other than you spent helping yourself. Why is that?”

 

“Well… that’s, that’s just the way I was raised, I guess,” Lipton answered before he was cut off by another round of coughs. “People need your help, if you can help them why say no?”

 

Lipton looked up at Speirs and watched as the corner of his mouth twitched in what might have been an attempt at a smile. When he blinked his eyes, however, it was gone; perhaps it was never there to begin with, the fever was starting to really mess with his head. He closed his eyes and buried his face into his pillow while he hoped to feel much better by tomorrow.

 

“I’m going to let you rest for now, Lipton, and I’ll make sure no one bothers you but you gotta promise me one thing,” Speirs said in a quiet but firm voice.

 

“Whatzzat?” he mumbled into his pillow before another coughing fit shook his body.

 

“You gotta promise me you’re not gonna run yourself into the ground anymore, trying to help people,” Ron said.

 

Lipton cracked his eye and stared up at Speirs tall form. Was it his fever or did Speirs actually look as if he were concerned? He wasn’t sure. It had to be the fever. Why would Speirs care about Lipton and how he took care of himself?

 

“Do you promise me that?” Speirs asked again in a firmer tone. “Because if you don’t I might be forced into making sure you don’t run yourself ragged.”

 

“And how would you go about doing that?” Lipton asked with a small chuckle that turned into a wheeze.

 

“Oh, you don’t want to know,” Speirs said and this time Lipton knew that there was a small smirk on his face. “Now what do you say? Yes or no?”

 

“…fine, I promise,” Lipton muttered before he closed his eyes and curled tighter into his blankets.

 

“Now you can’t just say that and not mean it because if I find you in this state again because you’ve been too busy helping others to help yourself, well, like I said, you don’t want to know what I’ll do.”

 

“Do threats usually work on most people, Speirs?” Lipton asked as he begun to feel himself being pulled under to the realm of sleep and dreams.

 

“Usually,” Speirs said with a nod before a small smile slowly crept across his face. “But you’re not most people, are you, Lipton?”

 

Speirs watched as Lipton’s breathing slowly evened out and clearly fell asleep. He watched the younger man sleep for a moment before looked to the nightstand and spotted what had to be Lipton’s phone. He glanced at Lipton’s unconscious form for a moment before he reached out and grabbed the phone. Thankfully, Lipton kept the phone unlocked, but Speirs could already tell how trusting of a person Lipton was. Quickly and easily, Speirs added his number into Lipton’s contacts before putting Lipton’s phone number in his own phone. It was merely a precaution, in case he needed to check up on Lipton; completely a precautionary action for the wellbeing of a good person and nothing more.

 

Speirs placed the phone back where it had previously sat on the nightstand before he ducked out of the room and back into the mayhem that was the hallway.

 

* * *

  

“Bill, Bill, where ya going?!” Babe yelled as he watched his best friend wove through the cluster of students and made for the exit. “Hold up, Bill!”

 

“I gotta take this, Babe,” Bill yelled as he raised his ringing phone. “It’s my ma.”

 

“Oh, okay,” Babe said with a nod. “Just hurry back! Julian’s about to sing on Rock Band and if you remember New Years 2008, you don’t wanna miss it.”

 

“I know, I know, I just gotta go run take this,” Bill yelled over his shoulder as he ducked out of the room and headed for the peace and quiet of the stair well. He answered the call as he pushed through the door. “Yeah, Ma?”

 

 _“Is that anyway to great your mother, Bill?”_ Mrs. Guarnere asked in a tired but stern tone.

 

“No, sorry,” he said quietly.

 

There was a long pause where Bill waited for his mother to say something but after almost a minute of nothing, he began to feel off. His mother didn’t do this. His mom talked his ear off and bitched at him for not calling himself and asked him a million questions about his day and his friend’s day and then told him about her day and her friend’s day. Something wasn’t right.

 

“Ma? What’s up?” he asked quietly.

 

It was then that Bill heard the most heart wrenching noise ever: his mother began to cry. Panic and fear cloud his brain while his heart started to pound in his chest.

 

“Ma, ma, what’s going on? Why are you crying?” Bill asked, his voice near frantic.

 

 _“Oh, Bill…_ ” his mother said weakly through her sobs.

 

“What, Ma?” he asked softly while he hoped that somehow his tone could change whatever was the matter.

 

“ _It’s… it’s Henry, Billy.”_

 

Bill’s heart pounded in his chest at the words and it felt as if someone had doused him in ice water. He couldn’t think, couldn’t speak. After a minute, his lungs began to burn and he quickly gulped in a deep breath; he had stopped breathing.

 

“What’s… what’s wrong?” Bill managed to choke out while he thought of his brother on the other side of the world, in the middle of so much danger.

 

_“He’s…”_

 

“He’s what, Ma?” Bill asked; his voice was full on panic mode now and he was almost yelling at his mother, desperate for answers.

 

There was another long pause, one much longer than before. By the end of it, Bill began to realize what his mother was trying so desperately to say but couldn’t. Because there was only one thing in the world his mother couldn’t say to him.

 

“No,” Bill said weakly as he sunk to the floor; it felt like all the energy has been sucked out of him.

_Oh please, God, no…_

 

“Ma, no.”

 

_“Bill…”_

 

“Don’t. Don’t say it,” Bill practically yelled at his mother, his manners almost completely gone at this point. “Don’t you-”

_“He’s dead. Henry’s dead, Bill. He’s gone.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are much appreciated. Again, I don't know when the next chapter will be up but hopefully within the month.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Babe, Bill, Spina, and Julian return back home to Philly for Henry's funeral and there's a bunch of other bits of cuteness and fluff to counteract the sadness of the funeral. This is a very Babe-centered chapter, I know i left some of the guys out, but they're be back next chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I am so incredibly sorry for the wait on this chapter, like i just feel really bad about it. But I swear I got sick for like three weeks and i couldn't really write during that and then i had to start studying for exams and this past week I've been completely devoted to finals and studying (and crying while occasionally binge drinking...) so yeah, i've been kinda busy. But now i'm on winter break so hopefully in these three weeks of nothing I will be able to get the majority if not all of the next chapter finished so it'll be up sooner than this chapter took.
> 
> On another note I also want to remind everyone of the recent loses in the Band of Brother community: Frank Perconte (March 10, 1917 – October 24, 2013), Earl "One-Lung" McClung (April 27, 1923 – November 24, 2013), and Babe Heffron (May 16, 1923 – December 1, 2013). rest in peace.

* * *

Babe leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and let out a deep, slow breath as the airplane began to rattle and shake due to turbulence. When it didn’t let up, he gripped the armrest and gritted his teeth while he willed the plane to stop shaking. Damn, if there was one thing he wasn’t fond of, it was planes. A fucking metal tube hurtling thousands of feet in the air? No thank you, he’d rather drive across the country, take the scenic route.

 

“Do you need the barf bag, Babe?”

 

Babe cracked open his right eye and looked at Bill, who sat in the seat next to him. He looked exhausted; Babe was sure he hadn’t slept in days, not since he had gotten the news about Henry.

 

“I’m good, Bill,” Babe said as he let go of the armrests and opened both of his eyes.

 

As much as Babe would have loved to have driven across the country to get back to Philly, he knew he couldn’t. Time was of the essence and while they could manage to skip classes for a couple days, he knew they couldn’t spend a week to drive home; not to mention, they’d miss the funeral all together. While Babe really didn’t want to go to the funeral, he knew that he had to be there for Bill, who had been putting on a strong front ever since Babe had found him collapsed on the ground of the stairwell, wide-eyed with a pained expression; that had been three days ago and Bill had yet to say much of anything. Babe knew that Bill was hurting though, Julian and Spina knew it too. They were all hurting. Henry had been a couple of years older than them but he had always looked out for them all as if they were all his kid brothers. Even though Henry had been close with them all, Babe couldn’t imagine what it must feel like for Bill, who was his actual brother. Babe tried to imagine if what it would be like if one of his brothers died, but even the imagined pain couldn’t compare to what it actually must feel like.

 

Babe glanced across the aisle and looked at Spina and Julian. Julian was passed out with his face pressed up against the window while he snored and drooled. Ralph, however, had a thick textbook open on his lap while he took furious notes. They’d be missing a couple days of school this week and Ralph definitely had the worse deal. While the professors accepted a family death as an excuse to miss class, because they _were_ family, the Guarneres and Heffrons, and Julians and Spinas, they were all family, the professors didn’t think it was a complete get out of jail free card and still expected the work to be done. Babe and Julian had rolled their eyes and figured they’d turn in what they could but didn’t worry too much about it but Spina knew he would be fucked if he didn’t get it all done. Bill had stated outright that he didn’t give a shit about his grades and classes and probably wouldn’t have let his professors know what had happened if his mother didn’t tell him to.

 

Babe closed his eyes and leaned his head back against his seat while he hoped to get some rest, even though he knew he wouldn’t. He had hardly slept in days and he was beyond exhausted at this point. He thought of his nice, soft, warm bed back home, instead of the hard mattress in the drafty dorm room back at Pacific Coast University. When he pictured going back home, he thought of Thanksgiving: seeing all of his family, both blood and non-blood, eating way too much of his mother’s delicious cooking, arguing with his brothers and his baby sister, getting drunk with his uncles and relaxing with his friends. He didn’t picture a somber funeral with a flag-covered coffin.

 

 _Don’t think about that right now_ , Babe told himself as he felt a pang of grief hit him. _Not now_. _Think… think about the guys back at PCU. Think about all the shit they’re getting up to right now…_

 

While imagining George Luz or maybe even Skip Muck wreaking havoc on the fifth floor while Brad Colbert could be heard yelling at Ray Person down on the third floor made him smile slightly, it did little to ease the pain. But then again, he wasn’t sure if anything ever would.

 

* * *

  

Ron Speirs walked out of his room and into the hallway. There was some chatter coming from the rooms on the fifth floor, but ever since the news about Guarnere’s brother got out, everyone had become obviously more subdued than ever before. As he passed the open rooms, he glanced inside at the boys, some who were busy studying and others who were too busy shooting the shit to notice him. Winters was busy at the moment and had asked if he could step in for him and check on the floors quickly while he worked on some project or something. He had no problem with the request and he knew that the boys were actually less likely to goof off if he was doing rounds, but it didn’t seem as if he needed to even use his scary persona to stop any high-jinxes from happening.

 

Ron turned around at the end of the hallway and began making his way to the stairwell so that he could check on the other floors, but paused at room 508 when he noticed the open door. Inside Jay De L’Eau sat at his desk, head phones on, while he typed away at his keyboard while occasionally referencing a text book that sat open off to the side. He glanced at the other side of the room, where he expected to see the outline of Lipton as he laid in bed but instead only saw a mess of tangled sheets. After quickly checking the bathroom, where he found no Lipton, he returned to the room and knocked on the door. Jay turned around to look at him and while he looked a little confused he did not look as scared as the other boys might if he knocked on their doors.

 

“Can I help you?” he asked as he took off his head phones.

 

“Where’s Lipton?” Ron asked quietly.

 

“Uh, not sure,” Jay answered with a shrug. “I came back here an hour ago from classes and he wasn’t here.”

 

“Do you know where he might be?”

 

“Not really,” De L’Eau answered with a shake of his head. “Maybe he’s at the food hall, getting something to eat? I don’t think he ate very much yesterday so he’s bound to be hungry.”

 

“Alright,” Speirs said before he backed out of the room and into the hallway.

 

As Speirs checked the other floors, he searched for Lipton; he was supposed to be in bed because he was still sick with the flu even though he refused to go to the medical center and get himself checked out. Over the weekend Ron, and occasionally George Luz, had taken it upon himself to check up on the poor guy every now and again and make sure that he wasn’t getting any worse. It wasn’t a big deal; the guy helped so many people and asked for nothing in return and got sick because of it. If that wasn’t a big cosmic fuck-you then he didn’t know what was. A nice guy like Lipton deserved better than that.

 

After he had checked all of the floors and the common area, Ron decided to leave the dorm and ventured out onto the campus in search for Lipton. He wasn’t to be seen anywhere in the food hall and while the weather wasn’t bad for this time of year, it was still too brisk outside for someone in his condition to be sitting out. The only other place he figured the guy could be at would be the library, which irked Speirs. He had told Lipton repeatedly that he needed rest and to stay in bed but instead it appeared that he had defied his order and was trying to get school work done.

 

Five minutes later, Ron entered the library and after a minute of searching, he followed the noises of coughs to the back corner of the library, where he found Lipton sitting alone at one of the tables by the window. He had his laptop and several books spread out in front of him and appeared to be completely buried in his work. He watched for a few minutes as the fair-haired boy coughed and sniffled and huffed while he tried to make progress on his homework, unaware that he was being watched by Ron, who was standing only a couple feet away from him. Finally, after watching Lipton almost cough up a lung twice, he decided to step forwards and let his presence be known.

 

“What do you think you’re doing out of bed, Lipton?” Speirs asked in his infamous quiet by deadly tone. It didn’t have the usual effect on Lipton compared to the other boys who, when they heard it, tended to jump and scatter or freeze up at the sight of him, but it still gave Lipton a slight jump of surprise. When Lipton looked up at Speirs, he couldn’t help but grin slightly at the partially guilty expression on Lipton’s face.

 

“I’m falling behind on my homework,” Lipton answered politely before he returned to his books.

 

“It’s only Monday,” Speirs said as he watched Lipton scribble something down in a notebook.

 

“You fall behind rather quickly in college when you miss one day.”

 

“And you’ll fall behind even more if you keep going out while you’re sick.”

 

When Lipton didn’t move or respond to him, he pulled out the chair across from Lipton and sat down. Lipton glanced up at him for a moment before he returned to his work, muting another coughing fit while he did so.

 

“I can’t focus with you staring,” he sighed a moment later.

 

“Return back to your bed and I’ll stop staring,” he said calmly.

 

“Why should I? You’re just trying to use your little scare tactics to make me do what you want me to do,” Lipton said as he glanced up at Speirs.

 

“I’m trying to make sure you get better as soon as possible,” Speirs said after a slight pause.

 

“Why?”

 

Before Speirs could even begin to answer Lipton’s question, Carwood doubled over as he was hit with a coughing fit. Unlike the other coughing fits though, this one did not dissipate after a couple of moments. Lipton blindly reached for his water bottle while he tried his best to muffle the loud hacking coughing that were ripping through his body. Speirs grabbed the water bottle, placed it into Lipton’s reach, and watched as he guzzled down the water in an attempt to stop the painful and loud coughs. When the younger man finally was able to stop, he glanced at Speirs and looked both thankful and somewhat apologetic.

 

“Now will you go back to your room or will I have to drag you?” Ron asked Lipton quietly. “I’m sure you realize I would have no qualms with it but it would really be easier if you went peacefully.”

 

“Why does this sound like some sort of police hold up?”

 

“Because similar to a police hold up I will use force if necessary,” Ron said as he placed a hand on Lipton’s shoulder and picked up Lipton’s backpack from the ground. “Now let’s go.”

 

Lipton sighed but nodded his head as he gathered his books and laptop from the table. He slid them into the open backpack that Speirs held out in front of him but when he attempted to take the backpack from Speirs, he jerked it away from him.

 

“Really, I’m not in such fragile condition that I can’t carry my backpack,” he said exasperatedly.

 

“Well let’s just call it a precaution then,” Speirs said as he shouldered the bag. “Wouldn’t want to strain yourself.”

 

Knowing the arguing would be pointless, Lipton sighed and tugged on his jacket as he followed Speirs from the library and back to Hanks House, where he knew he would be forced back into bed without any room for argument.

 

* * *

  

“Oh, Babe! I’ve missed my little boy,” Anne Heffron cried as she squeezed the life out of her middle child.

 

“Ma! Can you at least wait until I get through the friggen door?” Babe yelped as his mother placed a wet kiss on his cheek. “Jesus Christ.”

 

“Watch your language, Babe, or I’ll scrub your mouth out with soup again,” his mother said as he placed a hand on his back and gave him a push into the house.

 

Babe hardly even had a moment to drop his bags onto the ground before he was attacked by fifty pounds of red hair and pink clothing. Babe braced himself against the wall as Maggie, his baby sister, squeezed the remaining life out of him through his stomach. It was only when his younger brother, John, stepped in and pulled the small girl away from him that he was free to move into his house.

 

“Are you hungry, Babe?” Anne Heffron asked as she hung up her coat on the rack by the door. “Your father will be home in an hour so we’ll be having dinner soon. But I’m sure you’re starving, those planes probably don’t feed you at all do they?”

 

“I’m fine, Ma,” he said with a sigh and a roll of his eyes. “Just kinda tired. Gonna go up to my room for a bit.”

 

“Well alright then,” she said before Babe disappeared with his bags up the stairs to his room.

 

Babe kicked open his bedroom door, tossed his bags onto the floor, and collapsed face first on top of his bed. He hadn’t been home in about two months but it still smelled like the fresh laundry detergent his mother used, instead of the cheap laundry soup he used back in the dorms. It smelled like home. Between the calming smells, the warm, comfortable bed, and his exhaustion finally catching up to him, he began to feel himself fall asleep. Unfortunately for him, the buzzing of his phone in his pants pocket jolted him awake with a groan. He would have just ignored the annoyance and gone back to sleep but it could have been Bill who texted him and right now Bill was his focus. He cracked open his eyes as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw that it was not Bill who texted him, but Eugene.

 

**Hey are you back home yet? How was your flight?**

 

Sighing slightly, Babe opened his eyes a little wider before he responded to his friend’s text.

 

**its 2013. i feel like planes should be more improved by now**

**and yeah, just got back home. my ma’s going nuts**

**how’s life going at the dorm?**

 

It only took Eugene another moment to respond to Babe’s text. In that time, Babe had managed to sit up properly in bed and kick off his tennis shoes into the far corner of his bedroom. His ma would bitch later but right now he didn’t care.

 

**Ray’s on probation again for setting off a string of Chinese firecrackers outside of the building at three in the morning. Brad caught him before he had a second to run. Must of saw him sneak out of the room and got suspicious.**

 

Babe smirked at the image of Brad tracking Ray in the dead of night before he tackled him on the lawn outside of Hanks House. It was an entertaining picture to say the least. He felt a little sad that he missed the spectacle, but Ray was bound to do something stupid when they got back.

 

**seems a little tame for ray person. anything else happen?**

There was a longer pause between texts this time. It allowed Babe a moment to remember what had been happening as Babe, Bill, Julian, and Ralph left. While most people had been partying all weekend long in celebration of exams being over, a sort of somber air had fallen upon the fifth floor as the news of Bill’s brother spread. They had left early Monday morning before half of the residents of the fifth floor had even managed to pull themselves from their beds. Sledge had been on his way out and offered him a comforting squeeze of his shoulder as he left.

 

**Speirs has been following around Lip like a watchdog. It’s sort of entertaining.**

 

Babe let out a chuckle at that. He vaguely remembered how late Friday night when he had been wondering around the halls, not sure what to do after hearing the news, he had seen Speirs slip out of Lipton’s room quickly before he returned with a bottle of medicine. He also remembered how he had held an unknown threat over anyone who disrupted Lipton why he tried to sleep; poor Jay had been crashing in Sledge’s room in fear of pissing Speirs off accidentally.

 

**why has speirs attached himself to poor lip? i don’t get it**

 

It was only a couple of seconds before Sledge texted him back.

 

**We choose not to question it. Whatever makes him happy and keeps him from scaring the shit out of the rest of us.**

 

Babe understood that; Speirs could give a guy a heart attack when he chose to sneak up on someone. A second later he heard the distinct sound of the front door opening and then his father’s loud voice. Figuring he should go say hi, Babe slipped his phone back into his pants pockets, got off of his bed, and left his room.

 

* * *

  

David jumped as someone slammed a tray across the table from him. He looked up from the book he had been poring over and stared up at none other than Joe Liebgott. He sneered down at him before he sat down at the seat across from him.

 

“Heya, Web,” Joe said with a smirk.

 

“Joe,” David said slowly as he glanced around at the crowded food hall. He knew that there was not another empty table anywhere in the hall; it was packed in there and he had had to stalk the table he currently sat at so no one else could get to it before him. Joe wasn’t just fucking with him, or well, he probably was somehow, Joe always fucked with him if he had the chance. David had been avoiding him lately and did not say anything to the other man as he sat down across from him.

 

“So how ya been, Web?” Joe asked as he dug into his food messily; it was almost impressive how much food Liebgott could stuff into his mouth at one time.

 

“Alright,” David answered tensely as he tore himself away from watching Joe devour a poor defenseless hamburger. For a moment he thought of ignoring Joe, but some part of him, probably the part of him that still belonged in a prep school and planned on attending Harvard and was always polite because it was a value his mother had practically beat into him kept him from keeping his mouth shut tight. “And you?”

 

“Same old, same old,” Joe managed to mumble through his mouthful of food. He took a swig of his soda before he swallowed his food and continued. “Could have used your help on that literature test, ya know. Got my ass handed to me on that one.”

 

David looked up at Liebgott’s grinning face but could still not tell if the other man was fucking with him.  He had blown off Joe on the Thursday he was supposed to have helped him study because half of him knew Joe was full of shit and the other half knew that even if Joe wasn’t lying, things would have ended up in an argument that would have gotten them both thrown out of the library. David felt a mild blush crawl across his cheeks and turned his head downward towards his food.

 

“Sorry about that,” he apologized quietly.

 

“It’s all good, Web,” Joe said with an easy smile before he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. David watched as Joe then wiped his hands on his pants and was sure if his mother had been here to witness this she may have cried. “Did just fine in all my other exams, in case you were wondering.”

 

“Oh, um, yeah, that’s great, Joe,” David said before he took a drink from his glass.

 

“Anybody ever tell you that you suck at small talk?” Joe asked as he dipped a fry into a mound of ketchup. “Cus I gotta say, I’m carrying this conversation here.”

 

David opened his mouth to snap at Joe but quickly closed it after a millisecond of thought. Joe just wanted to get a rise out of him, that was what he always wanted from David. No way in hell was David going to rise to Joe’s little grade school tactics.

 

“Sorry,” he said as politely as he could manage while he felt a headache begin to form. “I guess my small talk is a little lacking.”

 

“I think lacking is putting it lightly,” Joe muttered as he sipped his drink.

 

“What do you want, Joe?” David asked in a firm but not quite angry tone. He would _not_ rise up to Joe’s little childish prodding.

 

“Just here to enjoy your lovely company, Web,” Joe said before he winked at David. “Can’t blame a guy.”

 

Web felt a new blush rush to his face and he tried his best to hide it but he knew the damage was done. Something Joe seemed to enjoy, more than pissing him off which then forced him to start a screaming match, was making him blush and squirm. If their brief interactions didn’t end in a fight it ended up with Web marching away, face red and thoroughly flustered. But not today. Today David would not let Joe win and they would end their conversation politely and respectfully like adults should.

 

David took a long drink of cool water before he let out a deep breath. When he looked up at Joe, he was sure most of his blush had left his face.

 

“Ya know, Web, you blush more than any other person I have ever met.”

 

“I do not,” he said reproachfully.

 

“I bet you twenty bucks I couldn’t find a person on this campus that blushes more than you do,” Joe offered with a raised glass.

 

“Yeah well, it wouldn’t be fair because…”

 

“Because why, Web?” he asked as he looked at Web over the rim of his glass.

 

“Because if we were really betting on this you would cheat and not do the same things you do with me that you do with other people,” Web stuttered out as he felt the blush creep back up his neck.

 

David knew he was in trouble when he saw Joe’s almost sneer-like smile come across his face while he leaned across the table so that he was closer to him. Joe let out a little chuckle as Web attempted to look anywhere but at Joe, whose face was only a couple inches away from his own.

 

“And what exactly is it that I do with you that you think I wouldn’t do with other people?”

 

“You… you do shit like this,” David exclaimed angrily as he waved a hand at Joe’s grin. “You get all close to me and tease me and rub your feet up against me when we’re sitting and-”

 

“You mean like this?” Joe asked as he shamelessly slid his tennis shoe clad foot up David’s calf which caused him to jump and rattle the table. David glared at Joe as a few people glanced over at them with mild interest.

 

“Yeah. Like that,” David said through gritted teeth.

 

“Well I _guess_ if I was trying to make people blush I might do something like that, but then again this is just a hypothetical bet we’re talking about here, Web,” Joe said as his grin widened. “You’re the only lucky guy to get my attention like this.”

 

“And why exactly is that, Joe?”

 

“Well I thought it was obvious but I guess I gotta spell it out for ya, college boy,” Joe said with a slight roll of his eyes as he finally leaned back in his chair. “It’s because I like ya, Web.”

 

Web felt his jaw drop slightly while a wave of mild confusion washed over him. Joe let out a small sigh before he got up from his seat and gathered his tray up into his hands.

 

“I’ll be seeing you, Web,” Joe said as he kicked the chair back under the table. He then let a small grin come to his face as he added, “I’d close your mouth if I were you; you’re probably gonna end up swallowing a fly or somethin’.”

 

 

With that last comment, Joe walked away from David, leaving him sitting alone and rather confused.

 

* * *

 

Babe didn’t know what to expect; the last funeral he had gone to was for his Grandpa Patrick when he was five. When his father pulled into the funeral home parking lot he wasn’t surprised by the number of cars. The Guarnere’s were a huge, old school Italian family, so them alone would have been a ton of people, but there were also the number of other families from their neighborhood who had watched Henry grow up. Inside the funeral home, it was packed with people and Babe found it hard to move through the crowds, mainly because every other person he passed recognized him and felt the immediate need to comment on how much he had grown since they last saw him and asked him about twenty questions. He searched for Spina or Julian but mainly Bill while he tried his best to stay away from the casket at the opposite side of the room; he wasn’t ready for that right now. After about twenty minutes of searching, Babe finally went and asked Danielle, one of Bill’s older sisters, if she knew where he was and informed him that he was outside in the parking lot, smoking.

 

“Mind if I bum a smoke off of ya?” Babe asked as he approached Bill, who stood leaning against the building as he lit another cigarette.

 

“Only you would be cheap enough to steal from a grieving man,” Bill said without looking at Babe; he handed him the half empty pack anyhow.

 

“You seen Spina or Julian?” Babe asked after he lit his smoke.

 

“Think they’re on their way right now,” Bill said before he cracked a faint smile. “Something about Julian not being properly dressed for the occasion.”

 

“You mean his ma had to forcibly hose him down and then wrestle him into a proper jacket and tie.”

 

“You know it.”

 

It was a known fact among the group that Julian was always the most casually dressed at all occasions. For every wedding, christening, funeral, or any other formal occasion Julian had had to attend, it was always a struggle for his mother to get him into a simple dress shirt and tie. Julian claimed that at his wedding he would just wear sweats and one of those tuxedo t-shirts and hoped his wife was cool with it.

 

“So… how you holding up?” Babe asked after a long pause. Babe knew the question was pointless but he knew it was his duty as best friend to ask. Bill just shook his head and ground his spent cigarette onto the brick wall behind him. When Bill busied himself with lighting another cigarette, Babe sighed and said, “I’m sorry, Bill.”

 

“I’m sorry for my, Ma,” Bill said quietly. “Running herself ragged all day and night.”

 

Bill and Babe were then interrupted by the arrival of Spina and Julian. Spina was dressed in a dark suit with a charcoal dress shirt and looked oddly lacking without his customary hat on his shaved head. Julian was visibly uncomfortable as he tugged at the collar of his black dress shirt and fiddled with the cuffs.

 

“Hey, uh, Bill,” Spina said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I think they want to get the service under way soon. We should probably get inside soon.”

 

“Let’s get this over with,” Bill grunted as he tossed his half-smoked cigarette onto the ground and stomped on it.

 

Babe, Spina, and Julian all followed quietly after Bill inside the funeral home and sat down next to him in the second row of seats. Through the entire process, Babe watched Bill out of the corner of his eye but saw little change in the set of Bill’s jaw or the dryness of his eyes; Babe wasn’t too surprised. In all the years Babe had known Bill he could only remember him shedding a couple of tears. Babe knew that crying didn’t always equal sadness or grief or pain and Bill was also not one to put his emotions on display for everyone to see. After the priest had gone through the service, the large gathering of people stood and lined up to say their last goodbyes to Henry. Babe turned away when he heard Mr. and Mrs. Guarnere say their goodbyes and he did the same when Bill’s older siblings did the same but he found it difficult to not watch as Bill stood over the body of his brother. Henry: who claimed it was his job to watch out for his baby brother; who set out to beat up a neighborhood bully when a seven year old Bill came home one day with a couple more bumps and bruises than normal but ended up getting the snot beaten out of himself as well; who taught Bill to drive when he was thirteen in the parking lot of a supermarket at three in the morning a week after he had gotten his own license while Babe, Spina, and Julian sat crammed in the back seat and feared for their lives while they begged to be let out; who introduced Bill and Frannie when Bill was sixteen and had declared multiple times that Bill owed him  forever for setting him up with his future wife; who told Bill how proud he was that he decided to go to college instead of joining the military like he did.

 

All those years of warm memories and brotherly spats and arguments, there would be no more memories formed, no new stories to tell, it was the end of the line for a relationship that should have lasted for so much longer than it did.

 

When Bill was done, he tapped the side of the casket with his hand and muttered something that Babe couldn’t quite catch. Babe watched Bill walk away for a moment before he approached the coffin. He didn’t know what he expected when he looked down at Henry’s body; was he supposed to feel a great surge of grief or denial or… what? He wasn’t sure. All he felt was a sort of numb confusion. The body didn’t look like the Henry he knew. He didn’t look right, Babe wasn’t sure how to explain it but it wasn’t right. The Henry’s face was usually expressive, whether it was an easy smile as he smoked a cigarette or drank a beer or a scowl as Bill or one of his other siblings succeeded in annoying him. There was never the blank waxy expressionless mask on Henry’s face, not even when he was sleeping.

 

Not knowing what else to do or what he should say or think, Babe gave the edge of the casket a gentle tap, similar to what Bill had done, before he shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked towards where Bill disappeared. The funeral wasn’t quite over. There was still the procession to the cemetery and the small service there and then there would be a gathering somewhere where everyone could mourn with the addition of food.

 

Today had already been a very long day and it wasn’t even over yet but if there was ever a time for family to be there for one another, it was today.

 

* * *

  

“Isn’t it a little off-putting?” George asked Lipton as they ate lunch. When Luz went to check on Lipton an hour ago, he found him in better condition that he had in days and figured that it was a case of celebration. George also knew it was a safe time to steal the recovering man from his room while Speirs was stuck in his two hour lecture. Not that grabbing lunch at the food hall next to Hanks House was much of a celebration but Luz would take it.

 

“What is?” Lipton asked after he finished his bite of food.

 

“Speirs. Him watching over you all the time. Making sure you’re tucked all into bed all nice and cozy. Taking your temperature. Getting you all the cold medicine you would ever need. Making sure that you’re not overexerting your poor self,” George said as he waved his fork around in the air, not caring that he was causing small bits of food to fly all over the place. “Kinda creepy.”

 

“He’s just concerned,” Lipton said with a sigh.

 

“No, okay, if me or Perco or Skip or basically anyone else on the floor was taking care of you like the way Speirs is taking care of you, it’d be whatever. Everyone would probably rip on whoever was taking care of you and call them your boyfriend or whatever.”

 

“But it’s odd for someone like Ron to take care of me?”

 

“Gah! _Ron?_ That’s _weird,_ ” Luz said while he visibly cringed. “Do you honestly call Speirs ‘ _Ron_ ’?”

 

Lipton felt his face flush slightly as George waggled his eyebrows at him suggestively. He sighed as he ducked his head and returned his focus to his meal. He had never called Speirs ‘Ron’, or at least he didn’t think he ever had before, but if was being honest with himself, it didn’t feel weird to call the older man by his first name. It felt right.

 

“Would it matter if I did?” Lipton asked as he returned to eating.

 

“Well, kinda, I guess,” George said uneasily while he continued to look uncomfortable at the idea. “I mean, the only person I’ve heard call Speirs _‘Ron’_ has been Winters… and he’s _Winters_.”

 

“And Winters has some magical power that makes anything he does automatically okay?”

 

“Uh, fuck yeah. Dick’s like the second coming of Jesus or some shit,” George exclaimed loud enough to gain the attention of the people at the next table over.

 

“I think you may be exaggerating a bit, George,” he said with a small smile.

 

“You weren’t fucking there when he made that one kid from the third floor who went blind fucking _see_ again,” Luz yelled as he pointed a finger at Lipton.

 

“Blithe went temporarily blind because Ray decided to set off a road flare an inch away from his face. It was just a coincidence that his vision began to come back to him when Winters intervened.”

 

“Yeah, coincidence, sure let’s go with that. Or Jesus magic, which is what actually happened and you know it.”

 

“Fine, fine, George,” Lipton said with a slight roll of his eyes. He was then distracted by the small chirping sound of his cell phone. When he pulled out his phone he found that he had a new text.

 

**Where are you?**

 

Lipton couldn’t help the exasperated feeling or the small smile that came to his face when he imagined Ron as he ran around in search of Lipton. With a small sigh he shook his head and responded.

 

**Grabbed some lunch with Luz. I’m feeling much better.**

 

He knew that saying he was feeling better would not stop Speirs from worrying about him but he felt it was worth a shot. When his phone chirped again he opened the new text from Speirs and smiled once again.

 

**I guess you don’t want to grab lunch with me then.**

 

Lipton sent a quick text in response.

 

**Sorry, maybe dinner then?**

 

“Who the fuck are you texting under the table there, Lip?” George asked with curiosity in his voice. “Because you’re grinning like an idiot who’s texting their boyfriend.”

 

“I thought you were afraid to call Ron my boyfriend,” Lipton teased back as he did his best to fight the smile on his face.

 

“I said we wouldn’t tease him about it to his _face_ ,” Luz said as he gathered up his used dishes on his plate and got ready to get up. “But behind his back when he’s fretting over you 24/7 is _completely_ fair game.”

 

Lipton shook his head as he put his dishes onto his own tray and followed after George to them to the dish return. He knew it wasn’t worth the time or energy to correct Luz; Ron was not his boyfriend. They were just friends.

 

His phone chirped again.

 

**Of course.**

 

“Ugh, I don’t think the look on your face could be any more disgusting,” Luz groaned at Carwood’s smile as they headed for the chilly outside.

 

“Shut up, George.”

 

* * *

  

After the funeral and the get-together at the local V.F.W. hall, where Babe ate too much food and spent way too much time and effort on dodging the droves of older women from the neighborhood who wanted to pinch his cheeks, fawn over him, set him up with their granddaughters, or hit on him, he finally returned to his room back home. It was only around seven at night but he felt exhausted and after he slipped out of his shirt and tie and shoved his dressed slacks to ground, Babe collapsed on top of his bed in his undershirt and boxers and fell asleep.

 

When Babe woke up hours later it was to a pitch black room and a silent house. The glow of his alarm clock informed him it was almost three in the morning and although his stomach ached for food, he couldn’t find the effort to get up and search for food. Not knowing what else to do, Babe grabbed his laptop from where it lay on the floor, opened up a new tab, and logged into his Facebook account. Julian made fun of him for sticking with the now almost obsolete social media site but he didn't give a shit; he didn't need any goddamn hipster twitter like Julian. As expected, Facebook was rather dead at three in the morning. After scrolling aimlessly through his news feed, he glanced to see who was online. There were a couple random people from his high school who he hadn’t talked to in at least a year, Ray Person, and, believe it or not, Gene Roe.

 

Babe hovered over the name for a moment before he clicked on it, which opened up a chat window. He didn’t know what to say. He was pathetic. Him and Gene had barely spoken ever since the first week of school when he stitched up his fucking lip. Since then, Babe had been mainly fawning at Gene from afar while he tried not to be too jealous of fucking Renee LeMarie or crazy Snafu Shelton or even fucking Spina or Sid Phillips. Eugene Sledge teased him whenever he happened to catch him staring at the pre-med student before he promptly made fun of Babe for his supposed lack of balls.

 

It was nice, having someone he could vent to about the doc, or who at least knew that he was gay. Sometimes when he and Eugene talked, Babe wished he could be talking to Bill or Spina or even fucking Julian instead. It wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy talking to Eugene, because he did, he just was used to having deep conversation with his old friends from Philly and those really just hadn’t been happening ever since he accepted the fact that he was gay. No matter how much Eugene claimed that Bill and the other guys wouldn’t care, he wasn’t quite able to believe it himself yet; he was still too afraid of the idea of losing his three best friends because of it.

 

A dull pinging noise broke Babe out of his thoughts and when he looked at his computer, he was absolutely surprised to find that the previously empty chat window now held one new message.

 

**Gene Roe:**

**Heffron, you okay?**

 

Babe stared at the message for a good moment, frozen in surprise. Gene Roe, who barely spoke to many people who weren’t asking him questions about some pre-med class, who, according to Ralph, almost always kept to himself, who Babe had been absolutely infatuated with since the first week of school where Babe showcased how much of a graceless idiot he was, had actually sent him a message.

 

 _Act cool, Heffron_ , Babe told himself. _Don’t fuck up now_.

**Babe Heffron:**

**Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?**

**And it’s Babe, not Heffron**.

 

**Gene Roe:**

**Sorry**

**And you lost someone close to you. Reason to be upset.**

 

**Babe Heffron:**

**oh right**

 

 _Smooth, Babe_ , he hissed to himself while he tried his best from hitting himself with his computer _. Real smooth._

**Babe Heffron:**

**I’m okay I guess. Been better but could be worse. Been busy looking after bill.**

 

**Gene Roe:**

**Bill not doing too good then?**

**Babe Heffron:**

**he’s keeping it together but i know he’s hurting. Me and spina and julian have been keeping an eye out for him**

**Gene Roe:**

**Well it’s a good thing he’s got you three to watch over him in his time of need.**

**Babe Heffron:**

**Jesus gene, you always sound this serious?**

 

**Gene Roe:**

**The death of a loved one is a serious occasion, Edward.**

 

Babe outwardly cringed when he saw the name Edward. He hadn’t been called by Edward by anyone in months and he felt as if he had almost left it all behind. Truth be told, Babe wasn’t even sure how Gene knew his name was actually Edward; he had introduced himself as Babe to everyone at Pacific. Perhaps Bill or Julian had let his name spread one day when he wasn’t looking.

 

**Babe Heffron:**

**Dammit, Gene, it’s Babe. Only the goddamn nuns ever called me Edward.**

**Gene Roe:**

**Sorry.**

 

Babe felt his face flush at Gene’s apology; the irritation that he had previously felt had disappeared within an instant.

 

**Babe Heffron:**

**It’s okay, just try not to do it again or else**

**Gene Roe:**

**Or else what?**

**Babe Heffron:**

**huh?**

**Gene Roe:**

**What’ll happen if I call you Edward again? It sounded a bit like a threat.**

Babe stopped and stared at his glowing computer screen for a moment; he felt confused and was not sure how to respond to this at all. Usually when some dumbass kid asked him what he would do if someone called him the wrong name again he’d respond that he would punch his lights out. But Babe couldn’t and wouldn’t tell Gene that. Babe couldn’t just give him some dumb Philly boy response but he couldn’t give him some other dumbass response because it’d probably just make Gene uncomfortable with him when he realized the level of his stupid crush. He was pathetic and screwed.

 

**Gene Roe:**

**You still there?**

**Babe Heffron:**

**Uh yeah, sorry.**

**Got kinda distracted**

**Gene Roe:**

**Understandable. It is late.**

**You probably had a long day.**

**Babe Heffron:**

**Yeah well, you probably had a long one too.**

**It’s Tuesday. You had to wake up for class today**

**Gene Roe:**

**Technically it’s Wednesday.**

**Babe Heffron:**

**Which makes me wonder even more why you’re up this late. You’re gonna sleep through your morning classes Gene**

**Gene Roe:**

**I’ll make it. I ain’t like some of the other boys who can’t drag their sorry asses out of bed before noon.**

**Babe Heffron:**

**Was that a stab at me?**

**I’ll have you know I only missed my 8 am twice and one of those as because julian fucked up my alarm clock the night before and it didn’t go off.**

**Gene Roe:**

**No need to convince me of your class attendance rate.**

**You seem like the kind of guy who attends class at least once a week.**

**Babe Heffron:**

**I just try and attend class more than julian and then I feel pretty good about my attendance**

**Gene Roe:**

**That’s one way to do it I suppose**

 

There was a pause in the conversation and Babe wasn’t sure what to do. After a little work, it was easy talking to Gene, almost as easy as talking to Eugene or any of the other guys from Pacific. He didn’t want to screw it up though.

 

 _Fuck stupid crushes,_ Babe thought pitifully as he stared at the small picture of Gene. It was a slightly out of focus picture that appeared to have been taken without Gene’s notice; nothing spectacular but still worth looking at because it was Gene’s face. Damn he was a fucking sap and he wasn’t even dating the kid.

 

**Gene Roe:**

**So when are you going to be coming back to school?**

**Babe Heffron:**

**In about 12 hours**

**Gotta catch a flight at 10**

**Gene Roe:**

**Well then you have an early start as well, Babe**

**Babe Heffron:**

**I literally just woke up from an eight hour nap**

**I’ll sleep on the plane**

**Gene Roe:**

**A nap doesn’t last for eight hours**

**Babe Heffron:**

**When you’re doing it right they do**

**Gene Roe:**

**I guess that means that you won’t be going to bed anytime soon then**

**Babe Heffron:**

**Probably not**

**But you should**

**You have class in what? Five hours?**

**Gene Roe:**

**Eight hours, Babe. Gotta remember those time zones.**

**Babe Heffron:**

**Oh, right.**

**But still, you should get some real sleep**

**Gene Roe:**

**Why you so set on trying to get rid of me? Am I that boring?**

 

Babe felt his stomach squirm uncomfortable as a tomato-colored flush crawled up his neck; he was thankful that no one was in the room to see it.

**Babe Heffron:**

**No you aint boring, Gene**

**Just don’t want you staying up all night talking to some idiot like me when you could be sleeping**

**Gene Roe:**

**Maybe I like talking to some idiot instead of sleeping.**

 

If Babe thought his blush was bad before it was nothing compared to now. His entire body felt as if it were on fire and he knew that his face was bright fucking red. This was ridiculous. If he was thankful for anything it was the fact that no one was there to see him in that state.

 

**Gene Roe:**

**I’m not tired and if you’re not tired, how about we keep this up until one of us is?**

**Or until one of us gets bored**

**Babe Heffron:**

**I don’t know how I could ever get bored talking to you**

**Gene Roe:**

**Well I’m sure you’ll find out.**

**I’m not that interesting of a person.**

**Babe Heffron:**

**I’ll be the judge of that.**

 

* * *

  

“Lew?”

 

Lewis looked up from where he sat on the edge of his bed and found Dick standing in his doorway with his usual warm smile on his face. Lewis ignored the voice that came out of the cell phone that was pressed against his ear and motioned for Dick to come sit next to him.

 

“I’ll be off in a second,” Nix said before his mother’s voice chirped loudly into his ear again.

 

“ _Lewis are you even listening to me?”_ Mrs. Nixon asked in a tone of exasperation.

 

“Yeah, mom, I’m listening,” Nixon said as he smiled at Dick, who gave him a slight look of exasperation.

 

“ _Well then what was the last thing I told you?”_

 

“Ah, you said ‘Lewis, are you even listening to me’,” Lewis imitated his mother.

 

“ _Lewis Franklin_ ,” his mother warned.

 

“What I answered your question,” Lewis said, distracted by the form of Dick at his side.

 

“ _I meant what I said before I said that_.”

 

“Oh that? Yeah I don’t know what you said before that, mom, I wasn’t listening,” Lewis said boldly before he leaned over and kissed Dick, who was now so close that he could hear Mrs. Nixon’s irritation; between Lewis’s bad behavior and the things his mother was saying, Dick couldn’t help but chuckle. Nixon swatted at him with a smile when he mother yelled even louder.

 

“ _Lewis is there someone in the room with you right now? Is that why you’re not paying attention?”_

 

“Well, mom, to be honest I wasn’t really paying attention to you before he came in here but now that he’s here I’m definitely not paying attention to you,” he admitted, which made Dick roll his eyes.

 

“ _Would you rather talk to your father, Lewis_?”

 

“Like he would talk to me,” he sighed as he lay back onto his mattress; Lewis reached up and tugged Dick’s sleeve gently, which brought Dick to lie down next to him.

 

“ _Well maybe it would get you to listen to what I am trying to tell you_ ,” she sighed.

 

“Yeah because me and Stan always listen to each other,” Lewis said dryly. “But mom despite every bit of bullshit I have been telling you these past few minutes I have been listening to you. Yes, I’ll come home for Thanksgiving, I’ll book my own ticket tonight, and no, you don’t have to arrange a taxi or whatever, I can do it myself.”

 

“ _Would it really have been so hard to just say you were listening to me?”_

 

“Yes.”

 

_“Lewis.”_

 

“Come on, mom, I’m not pissing you and Stan off all the time anymore since I’m not at home so I gotta do it while I have the chance,” Nixon said as he smiled to Dick, who appeared to be pretending that he was not listening to him.

_“Yes, well, I’ll see you at Thanksgiving then_?”

 

“Yes mom, do you need my written statement?”

 

“ _No. I’ll talk to you later, Lewis_.”

 

“Bye, mom.”

 

With a heavy sigh, Lew dropped his phone onto the carpet next to his bed and stared up at the popcorn ceiling of his dorm room. Dick turned his head and stared at Lewis with his usual calm and somewhat unreadable expression on his face.

 

“So how’s your mom?”

 

“Only mildly psychotic so better than expected,” he answered. “I haven’t really talked to her like, at all since I left so she was a little pissed at me.”

 

“Well then she has some reason to be annoyed with you,” Dick said as he bumped his shoulder with Nixon’s.

 

“I guess. I didn’t really let her know I wasn’t going back to Yale. Or that I decided to go to a college on the other side of the country. And I kinda literally ran out of the house after throwing my shit out onto the lawn from my bedroom window. And then I guess maybe I should have told her that I’m alive and made it here.”

 

“You never told you mother that you even made it here?” Dick asked with wide eyes as he raised himself up onto an elbow so that he could look down at Nixon’s calm expression.

 

“I meant to call her but I just got caught up with things here,” Nixon said with a slight wave of his hand. “I could have sworn I called her…”

 

“Lew, you ran away to the other side of the country and never let her know you made it and you were fine.”

 

“Oh, she knew I made it here,” he said confidently. “That woman seems to know everything about me before I even do.”

 

“Usually how moms work,” Dick said.

 

“What’s your mom like?” Nixon asked as he stared up at Dick, dark brown eyes met lighter, warmer brown ones.

 

“She’s nice. Hardworking, a little strict at times, but she’s nice. We’ve always gotten along well together,” Dick said with a heartwarming look on his face. “She cooks like no other.”

 

“I bet that’s nice,” Nixon said quietly. “My family was never really one for home cooked meals. Well, at least not one for actually making the meal themselves. They’d rather go out and have someone else make it for them.”

 

“Maybe one day you can have some of my mom’s home cooking,” Dick said with a smile.

 

“I’d really like that,” Lewis said as he reached out and ran a hand down Dick’s upper arm. “Maybe someday you can see if you can use your special powers on my mom and Stan.”

 

“And what are these special powers hmm?” Dick asked as he leaned in closer towards Lewis.

 

Lewis opened his mouth, prepared to say the words that he had wanted to say for almost as long as he had known Dick. But they were words that he couldn’t remember ever saying; he was sure he said them at some point to his mom or his dog but that was about it.

 

“What?” Dick asked softly when Lewis didn’t respond.

 

_Fuck it._

 

“The special power that makes anyone in your presence fall in love with you.”

 

Dick stared down at him for a minute before he placed a chaste but soft kiss onto Lewis’s lips. When they broke apart, Dick rested his forehead against Nixon’s and grinned down at him; Nixon couldn’t help but notice a slight flush in his pale cheeks.

 

“I think you possess that power as well, Lew,” Dick said. “It’s working on me.”

 

“Really?” Lewis asked hesitantly.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Grinning widely, Lewis gripped Dicks face between his two hands and kissed him much harder than Dick had before. Giggling like a teenage girl, Lew rolled them over so that he was on top of Dick. He let go of Dick’s face and moved to start unbuttoning his shirt when they were disrupted by a deep voice that caused Dick to jump up and smack his chin against Lew’s lip.

 

“Would you like me to put a sock on the doorknob or something?” Speirs asked as he leaned against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest while he looked mildly amused. “Spare others from the same fate as me, ya know.”

 

“Sorry, Ron,” Dick said sheepishly as he sat up, face bright red. “We just got kinda carried away…”

 

“I can tell,” Ron said as his smirk widened. “Don’t let me stop you. I just thought it best to offer the sock on the door before one of the boys came in with a camera or something else equally problematic.”

 

“We’re done here,” Dick said as he straightened out his rumpled shirt.

 

“We are?” Lewis asked with a pout as he disentangled his limbs from Dick’s.

 

 _“Yes,_ we are,” Dick said firmly while he gave Nix an amused look. “I just came in here to see if Lew wanted breakfast so we are going to be going now.” Dick stood up and motioned for him to follow after him.

 

“Um, I’m just gonna need a second,” Nixon admitted with pink cheeks while he avoided Ron’s gaze; he just knew that bastard was absolutely tickled pink to find him this way.

 

“Yeah, I’m gonna have to leave now,” Speirs said with a small chuckle before he turned around and disappeared from view.

 

“So… do we really have to go right now or can we wait a little bit? Cus I can go and close the door for… _five_ minutes if you’re up for it?” Lewis asked with a grin as he gestured to the still open door.

 

“Lew, at this rate not are we not going to reach the food hall but we’ll both be late for class,” Dick said with a sigh.

 

“That’s fine with me. I mean I haven’t skipped Pre-Calc in a while so I figure I’m due for a nice skip,” Nixon said as he crowded in closer to Dick.

 

Dick placed a firm hand on his chest and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by another voice from the still open doorway.

 

“Why is Ron smiling like that?” Harry asked while looking slightly concerned. “He looks like a fucking psychopath.”

 

“You’d be laughing too if Nixon admitted to popping a chub in front of you,” Speirs chuckling voice carried down the hallway.

 

Harry’s jaw dropped in horror while Dick looked slightly uncomfortable at Ron’s loud and slightly inappropriate declaration. Nixon glared and scowled at the doorway while red crawled into his face. Harry threw his hands in the air in resignation and turned away.

 

“I’m so fucking done it’s not even funny,” he growled in annoyance as he retreated to his own room and slammed the door.

 

“I think I’m ready to leave now,” Nixon muttered while he continued to glare flatly at the doorway.

 

“Cheer up,” Dick said as he placed a hand on the small of Lewis’s back and pressed a kiss to his scruffy cheek. “It’s breakfast time.”

 

* * *

  

It was Wednesday morning and Babe was busy shoving his belongings into a suitcase. He felt exhausted but whenever he thought about why he was tired a dopey grin came to his face and he felt instantly energized. It had been almost five in the morning by the time Babe had managed to peel himself away from his laptop and his conversation with Gene Roe. Both of the two young men had wanted to continue talking but Babe insisted that Gene go to sleep so that he wouldn’t miss his classes in the morning. Before they ended their conversation, however, Gene had asked him to grab lunch with him when he got back to school; the thought of some one-on-one time with Gene made him both excited and incredibly nervous to get back to Pacific. While nothing had been explicitly stated about the nature of their food run, Babe got the feeling that this was something a little more than what happened between friends. But he wouldn’t mention it first. If this wasn’t something more, if he had just imagined the flirtatious vibe he had gotten from Gene last night, well, then he didn’t want Gene to know how badly he had misunderstood him.

 

 _What if this actually is something more though_ , Babe thought to himself while he zipped up his suitcase. _What would happen then?_

 

He and Gene would be eating somewhere public and if something were to happen between them, anyone and everyone had the chance to see them and that meant that his desperately hidden secret may not be a secret for very much longer. On one hand, Babe would be relieved if everyone just knew but, or course, on the other hand he feared what everyone would think of him.

 

There was a knock on his door that broke him out of his thoughts. Babe turned around and found Bill standing in the doorway, jacket covered in a fine layer of fresh snow.

 

“Ready to go, Babe?” Bill asked. “Frannie’s outside waiting on you so you better hurry up.”

 

“Frannie? I thought your ma was driving us,” Babe said as he finished zipping up his suitcase.

 

“Yeah well, Frannie got a hold of her dad’s SUV and I thought it might be a little better than making you, Spina, and Julian cram into the back of my ma’s old station wagon.”

 

“How considerate,” Babe said. “More like you just want another chance to gross the rest of us out when you go and mack at the airport. Always an ulterior motive, Bill.”

 

“What can I say? Why deny myself pleasure if I can get it? ‘Specially if it pisses off you assholes,” Bill said with a wide grin before he reached out and slapped Babe on the shoulder. “But let’s get a move on. We still gotta pick up the other two stooges.”

 

Bill turned around and took a step towards the door. When Babe didn’t follow, he turned around found Babe still on the edge of his bed with a vacant expression on his face. Babe didn’t see Bill or his annoyed expression, didn’t hear his voice either. Instead, Babe focused on what Bill had said, about why he shouldn’t deny pleasure if he could get it. Yeah, maybe he and Gene weren’t about to making out in the middle of the quad or holding hand on the way to class or any of that shit, but there was the possibility. There was the possibility that Babe could be happy and feel lighter with the knowledge that his closet friends knew everything important when it came to him.

 

“ _Babe!_ ” Bill yelled as he swatted his best friend on the head. “Now’s not the time to take a fucking nap! We got a plan to catch so grab your shit and get a move on. You can sleep on the fuckin’ plane.”

 

Babe blinked and looked up at Bill for a moment. He knew in the back of his head that right now might not be the best of times to tell Bill, but he also knew that if he didn’t take the opportunity now he didn’t know when he’d be able to admit it again. There was fear, sure, but there was also 18 years of good memories attached to Bill that reminded Babe what Bill was to him. Bill was family, he was more of a brother than his actual brothers, he was someone that Babe knew he couldn’t lose. Family this strong wouldn’t just drop each other over something like this.

 

“Babe?” Bill repeated, voice filled with irritation.

 

“I'm gay.”

 

Babe let out a shaky breath as he stared at his best friend’s blank expression for a moment before he dropped his gaze to the floor while he waited for the preverbal boot to drop. He felt sick while he waited for Bill to yell, to say awful things, to leave, maybe even attack him. None of that happened though. Instead he heard Bill’s footsteps approach him and as he flinched, waiting for a blow to hit, he felt a strong arm wrap around his shoulders. Before he knew it, Babe was pulled close to Bill’s chest in what was unmistakably a hug.

 

“Aw, Babe, you dumbass," Bill growled into his ear, “I already knew.”

 

“What?!" Babe cried as he lurched backwards out of the hug and began to feel a new wave of panic hit him. Had he been obvious? Did everyone know? Why hadn’t anyone come to him and asked him about it? Did they all secretly hate him for it? “What do you mean you already knew?! Wha-!”

 

“Calm down Babe," Bill said as he placed a reassuring hand on the back if Babe’s neck. "It's not like you’re obvious or nothing, prancing around in floral, worrying about your hair or whatever. You’re not like Winters and Nix giving bedroom eyes to each other all the damn time.”

 

“We’ll then how did you-?”

 

“I was there when you drunkenly macked that random dude at Tony Meyer’s party before Senior Year.”

 

“What...?”

 

“Yeah I was there when you guys were macking, which was pretty gross by the way-”

 

“Yeah cus you and Frannie are a pleasant sight to watch,” Babe managed to choke out through his shock.

 

“Hey back off, we are _nothing_ compared to _your_ level of drunk grossness.”

 

For a moment Babe feared that Bill thought the act of him kissing another guy was what was so gross but there was a soft smile on Bill’s face and the touch on the back of Babe’s neck was comforting. Bill wasn’t upset with him?

 

“I mean I watched you awkwardly make out with Dolores for six months, I don't know why I should have been surprised or thought you could be a good kisser.”

 

"Oh piss off, Bill," Babe muttered as a smirk cracked his frozen facade.

 

“Yeah well anyhow the guy noticed me and ran off to go puke in the bushes, which I guess is the appropriate response for anyone who had just kissed your ugly mug, and then guess who had to listen to you drunkenly babble for half an hour about some guy who had a nice butt and how good of a kisser he was.”

 

Babe’s shock almost completely evaporated and gave way to his complete mortification at Bill hearing him drunkenly talk about a guy’s butt. His face felt hot and he knew his face was bright red. He tried to turn away from Bill, but the guy had such a tight grip on him that it was nearly impossible.

 

“Yeah, I hope you’re fucking embarrassed. I sure as hell was. ‘Bout time you got some payback for what I had to deal with that night,” Bill said with a shit eating grin as he watched Babe work through his mortification.

 

“So… so you knew… this whole time?” Babe asked quietly with his face still bright red. “You knew and you didn’t tell me? Why?”

 

“It wasn’t my place to ask,” Bill said with a shrug. “It was your business that I accidentally got dragged into and I knew you’d let me know eventually. I figured it best to let you go at your own pace. No need to push you… figured you had enough shit to deal with. Didn’t need me pressuring you to do something you weren’t ready to do.”

 

“Oh,” Babe said quietly as he looked down at his shoes. “…thanks, Bill.”

 

“No problem,” Bill said as he finally let go of Babe. “Now let’s get downstairs before Frannie comes up here and kicks both of our asses.”

 

“Right,” Babe said as he picked up his suitcase and his laptop bag and followed Bill out of his bedroom.

 

The two friends were halfway down the stairs when Babe reached out, gripped Bill’s upper arm, and stopped Bill. He had to make sure, before they were forced into the car with Frannie and before he had to sit on a crowded plan with Spina and Julian sitting right by them. He had to make sure Bill was okay with this, okay with him, and wasn’t just being nice to spare Babe’s feelings.

 

“Babe, I mean it. Frannie will kick both of our asses if we’re not down there thirty seconds,” Bill said with a sigh as he stopped and looked at Babe.

 

“I know I just… I just wanted to-to ask you if you’re… I want to know that-”

 

“What? If I’m _actually_ okay with you being gay?” Bill asked quietly so that no one would accidentally overhear them. “Babe, you’re my best friend, have been for my entire life, will be until we’re six feet under. You being gay doesn’t change that. And for fucks sake, what’s wrong with being gay? More women for me, ya know.”

 

“I’m telling Frannie you said that,” Babe said as he let out a small laugh and ducked his head down so that Bill wouldn’t see the wetness in his eyes.

 

“Like hell you are,” Bill said. “Now, let’s get out of here. My phone’s been buzzing this entire time and I’m sure they’re all from her bitching at us to get our asses into gear. I’m gonna tell her that you were stuck on the shitter though.”

 

“Gee, thanks, Bill.”

 

“What are friends for?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I really, really, really hope to get the next chapter out WAY quicker than this. Sorry again for the wait, I hope this chapter was worth it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of the Thanksgiving family drama extravaganza

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fuck I'm actually updating kinda soonish? What?
> 
> So I originally planned on creating one super fucking long chapter of Thanksgiving Family-related drama, but it got to the point where I realized the length of the chapter would just be obnoxious, so last night I decided to split it into two chapters. I'm not done with the second half but I should have it up kinda soon, hopefully. 
> 
> Hope everyone's having an awesome holiday season :)

         

* * *

 

“So, when you leaving, Web?” Leckie asked David as he sat down on the edge of his bed and stared at his roommate, who was engrossed in something that he was reading off of his laptop.

 

It was a Monday night at the end of November. The first semester of classes was beginning to draw to a close but very few of the students in Hanks house were focused on the final exams that were two weeks away. Instead, most of the residents were focused on going back home for Thanksgiving.

 

“What was that?” David asked as he turned and looked at Bob. “Sorry I was kinda focused on this.”

 

“No problem,” Leckie said with a shrug. “Just asked when you were gonna leave for Thanksgiving.”

 

“Oh, um, I’m not quite sure yet,” David coughed as he turned back to his computer screen. “When are you going back?”

 

“Well actually I’m not going home for Thanksgiving this year,” Leckie said with a wide grin and a twinkle in his eyes.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. I’m going to _Stella’s_ for Thanksgiving,” Leckie said as he relaxed onto his bed. “Nice change of pace.”

 

“Meeting the parents already? You’ve only been together for what, three months?” he asked. “Don’t you think it’s a little early in the game?”

 

“Ehh, maybe. Never actually met a girl’s parents before,” he admitted. “But Stella lives close by so it saves me money on a plane ticket and I don’t have to deal with _my_ family for another couple of weeks so I’m just going to roll with it.”

 

“I guess that makes sense then.”

 

“So are you like, good with your family? Or are you guys still fighting or whatever because you aren’t at Harvard right now?” Leckie asked as he raised himself onto his elbows. Leckie remembered one of the first days here when he and Web had been talking about each of their messed up families. He remembered how Webster’s family hadn’t been happy about him going to school here and ever since then he hadn’t talked of his family at all. “I know they weren’t happy with you coming here. But are you guys better now?”

 

“Uh, yeah, sort of,” Webster said quietly without looking at him. “We’re still rocky but it could be worse.”

 

“No one’s family’s perfect,” Leckie stated as he lay back onto his bed. “You just have to learn to deal with what you have.”

 

“And your way of dealing with it is avoiding them completely?” David quipped with a smirk.

 

“Hell if it works, why not?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“That’s it, Perco, all packed up and ready to get the fuck back to Rhode Island,” George Luz informed his roommate and best friend as he slapped the overstuffed suitcase that sat on his bed.

 

“Finally get some peace and quiet,” Frank muttered from his desk.

 

“Are you fucking kidding me, Perco? Peace and quiet at my place? It’s not even fucking quiet at four in the morning,” Luz laughed. “Ten kids shoved into a house together? Not to mention it’s a holiday so we’re gonna be seeing my shit ton of cousins and aunts and uncles and it’s basically enough people to form a small army.”

 

“A Luz army, that’s not scary at all,” Frank sighed.

 

“You got a point, Frank, it’s not scary, it’s fucking terrifying,” George said deadpan. “Ya got the ankle bitters, Donnie and Joe, and then you got the conniving, evil little princess trifecta of Annie, Rita, and Louise. Then you got Ricky and Charlotte, your pre-teens who aren’t much of a problem right now but any day now they could explode into a hydrogen bomb of teenage emotions and mood swings and angst. And then there’s James, the eye-rolling, music-blaring, heavy-sighing, hot-topic phased new teenager and Stella, miss oldest daughter, queen bee, sweet-sixteen, I’m a cool as shit junior in high school with a tool of a boyfriend and no one can touch me.”

 

“Yikes.”

 

“And that’s just _my_ siblings. Now multiply it all about four and that’s your typical Luz family gathering,” George sighed as he pulled on his jacket. “Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes you wanna kill every last one of them by the end of it.”

 

“Remind me never to go to your house if I ever have the chance,” Frank said.

 

“I think the Luz household is something everyone should experience at one point of their lives.”

 

“Yeah. Just so you can laugh at our pain.”

 

“You know it, Perco,” George said as he lifted his laptop bag onto his shoulder and grabbed the handle of his suitcase. He clapped his friend on his shoulder before he started to walk towards the door. “See ya in a week.”

 

“See, ya, Luz.”

 

As Luz exited Hanks House, people waving and yelling goodbye and good riddance at him as he went, he let himself feel excitement at the idea of returning back home. Sure, he bitched about his siblings whenever he could, called them a psychotic brood, dared his friends to spend an hour in their presence, but he loved them all. He love his little brothers who were still on the cute, toddler-ish spectrum, love the three little girls who were basically triplets, love the two preteens that were still sweet but were edging towards teenage bratty-ness, Luz loved James, who he knew was gonna grow up to be a good kid, and loved Stella, who would always be his baby sister, no matter how big and bossy she got. He loved and missed them and could wait for this fucking plane ride to just be done with because he just wanted to go back home already.

 

“Georgie!” his mother exclaimed when she hugged him hours later after a long and annoying plane ride.

 

“Hi mom,” George said with a smile as he allowed his mother to press a kiss to his cheek. George glanced over his mom’s shoulder and saw his dad, who looked mildly amused at the spectacle but also mildly annoyed; he knew his dad was a chronic schedule keeper and knew he his dad wanted to get a move on before rush hour traffic kicked in.

 

“Let me get that,” his father said as he motioned to the suitcase he was towing behind him.

 

“Thanks, Dad,” George said as the three Luz’s walked out of the airport. “How have the kids been?”

 

“Rambunctious as usual,” his mother answered. “The little ones have missed you terribly. Poor Annie’s inconsolable at times she misses her big brother so much. And Donnie just won’t sleep as well as he used to now that Georgie isn’t here to tuck him in.”

 

“James has been trying to convince us to give him your room,” his dad said as they he opened up the trunk of the minivan and tossed his suitcase inside. “Said you can sleep in the living room whenever you’re home for break.”

 

“Well you can tell that little sneak that it’s my room and he can’t have it until I’m dead,” George said.

 

“I think we might have to give him the room a little before you die, Georgie, no offense,” Mrs. Luz said.

 

“But where will the shrine in remembrance of me be put up after I’m gone?”

 

“In the bathroom, where I’m sure a mold offspring of yours is currently growing,” Mr. Luz said as he looked at his oldest son through the rear-view mirror.

 

“That mold is not mine, dad, the bathroom was mold free when I left.”

 

“Well then we’ll just have to use one of the numerous dirty socks that you left lying crammed underneath your bed,” his mother said as she gave him a stern look over her shoulder. “Seriously you always complain you have no socks but after I cleaned your room I swear there is no one else in the country who has more socks than you.”

 

“I should get a trophy, make it official,” George muttered as he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, his parents were pulling into the driveway of his family home. “Home sweet home.”

 

“They’re gonna maul you before you even get through the doors,” Mr. Luz chuckled as he turned off the car.

 

True to his father’s words, George had just put both of his feet on the front porch when the front door swung open and four small children poured out of the house. The four children tightly wrapped their arms around him, each small child determined to grip the most of George’s body. There were screeches and cries and laughs and after ten minutes of it George managed to stumble into the house while he towed a small child on both of his legs.

 

“Ya know, one of you lazy assholes could have helped,” George yelled at James and Charlotte, who sat in the living room as they watched television together.

 

“But it’s more fun to watch. Why would we stop?” James asked with a half-smirk.

 

“Sorry,” Charlotte apologized as she got up from the couch and proceeded to pry Annie and Rita from his left and right legs.

 

“Thank you,” George said before he pulled his younger sister into a one-armed hug. “How’s it been going, kiddo? How’s the seventh graded been treating you? You get taller?”

 

“Maybe you just got shorter,” Charlotte said with a devilish look on her face that she must have learned from James. “And I’ve been good. I joined the girl’s volleyball team.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, mom was telling me about that,” George said before he was cut off by the sound of more frantic footsteps as they made their way loudly down the stairs. “Hey! It’s the rest of the brood!”

 

Ricky came bounding towards him and buried his face in George’s chest; he seemed to be going through a growth spurt at eleven years old. Behind Ricky stood Stella, looking mildly irritated as usual with Donnie on her hip; clearly he had just been woke up from a nap.

 

“Hey,” George said with a smile as he looked at his younger sister.

 

“Hope you’re babysitting skills aren’t rusty, dork,” Stella said before she passed over their youngest sibling into George’s arms. “The little kids just woke him up from a nap, so he’s cranky and hungry. Have fun.”

 

“Where are you running off to?” George asked as Stella walked towards the front door and grabbed her jacket.

 

“Out,” she said before he walked out the front door.

 

George watched as she walked up to a pimped-out muscle car that sat at the curb while muffled bad rap music poured from it. Stella sent him a smirk and a tiny wave before he climbed inside of the car. He watched as the car disappeared down the street and only stopped watching its progress when Donnie began to whine.

 

“Sorry, buddy, what’s up?” George asked gently as he adjusted the toddler on his hip.

 

“Hungry,” the three-year-old pouted.

 

“What do you want?”

 

“Fruit snacks!”

 

“Well let’s go get you some fruit snacks then, little buddy,” George said as he waded through the sea of children in the living room and headed for the kitchen.

 

He had been home for not even ten minutes and it was as if he had never left.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“You going home for Thanksgiving?” Eugene asked randomly Tuesday morning between bites of what were supposed to be eggs.

 

“Guess I am,” Shelton said through a mouthful of bacon. “Doc threw a plane ticket at my face the other day so I guess he’s dragging my ass back to the bayous for the week.”

 

“Oh, okay,” Eugene after a slight pause; Snafu couldn’t help but notice how surprised he seemed.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Snafu garbled through a mouthful of food which made Sledge cringe; Eugene knew that Snafu did this on purpose because it made him uncomfortable and he loved being an asshole. “ _‘Oh. Okay_ ’.”

 

“Just didn’t expect it is all. Figured you’d be the guy who stayed for Thanksgiving and got a chance to enjoy the peace and quiet for once,” Eugene admitted before he sighed and threw a napkin at his friends face. “Are you trying to look as uncivilized as possible?”

 

“This ain’t the Ritz, Sledgehammer. I don’t have to be civilized,” Snafu said with a wink but he grabbed the napkin off of the table and wiped his face.

 

Eugene rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the knowing smirk on Snafu’s face.  Snafu had started to call him ‘Sledgehammer’ recently. He didn’t really mind the nickname; he had never had a nickname growing up, not a cool one anyhow. But a lot of the time Eugene pretend to huff and puff at the nickname because he knew it would make Snafu smirk and smile more.

 

“But if I had it my way I would be staying here,” Snafu added a moment later of the rim of his coffee cup.

 

“Why?”

 

“It’s like you said; I’d like some time to enjoy by myself,” Snafu said before he grinned lecherously and added, “if you know what I mean, Sledgehammer.”

 

“Yeah, okay, whatever, Snaf, we’re gonna be late for class if we don’t get moving soon,” Eugene sighed as he began to gather all of his dishes onto his tray.

 

“Why you so curious about me staying here, Eugene?” Shelton as he followed behind. “Worried about little old me spending the happy holidays all by my lonesome?”

 

“No,” Eugene bit out as he disposed of his dishes and headed for the exit without caring if Snafu was following him.

 

“Kinda seemed like you were worrying about me back there,” Snafu said as he bumped his shoulder into Eugene’s.

 

“You wish, asshole,” Eugene snapped as he bumped Shelton’s shoulder in retaliation. “Just trying to carrying some polite conversation since you never say anything.”

 

“Uh huh, sure,” Snafu said in a skeptical tone as he looked at Eugene out of the corner of his eye.

 

Eugene ignored him for their walk together. When they split apart to go to their respective classes, Eugene allowed himself to think about what he had planned to ask Shelton before he told Eugene that he’d be returning to Louisiana. Eugene had thought about offering Snafu to join his family for Thanksgiving, had even asked his mother if it would have been alright; his brother Edward had brought friends back for holidays before. A part of his was happy Snafu was returning to Louisiana instead of sitting in his dorm by himself for a week but another part wasn’t so thrilled. It wasn’t just the fact that he had gotten a little excited at the idea of having Snafu over for Thanksgiving, it was the fact that on the very rare occasions that Snafu talked of back home, he never seemed happy about it. He wasn’t sure what would end up being more depressing for Snafu: staying at school or going back home.

 

 _Maybe he’ll do something with the Doc_ , Eugene thought to himself as he sat down in his lecture hall.

 

He knew that Snafu and the Doc were friends from back home but the Doc didn’t really seem like the kind of guy you went out and did stuff with. And Snafu wasn’t the kind of guy who really hung out either, something Eugene had figured out painfully fast.

 

 _He’ll be fine,_ he told himself _. Shelton’s a big kid. He can handle it._

 

Eugene tried to toss all of his thoughts of Snafu and his teasing and his possible depressing Thanksgiving back home and attempted to focus on the lecture that had begun. However, despite his best efforts, halfway through the lecture Eugene’s thoughts drifted away from theorems and formulas and focused instead on his chirping phone. It was a text from Snafu.

 

**I’m leaving tonight so I hope you understand why I can’t make it to our study session tonight**

 

Eugene glanced up at his professor, they were focused on writing some formula on the board that he probably should have written down, before he returned to his phone. He didn’t often text in class, usually he found people who did rude, but there was something about the semester coming to a close that really took away that feeling.

 

**How do I know you’re just lying to get out of studying?**

 

Snafu texted him back quickly. Eugene doubted that he was paying attention to his class at all, which was Math and he knew that Snafu still had some trouble in that class.

 

**Check my room tonight. That’s how you’ll know I’m not here**

 

 **Can’t** , Eugene typed. **I’m leaving tonight as well.**

 

Eugene’s phone chirped several times but he ignored it for a moment to quickly jot down some of the notes from the board into his notebook. He was sure he’d regret not paying attention now in a week from now when he was studying for finals.

 

**What if I weren’t leaving tonight?**

**What if I were desperate for help with inequalities or graphing?**

**You’d leave me all by myself to struggle through my work?**

 

Eugene couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his friend’s melodramatic texts.

 

**While somehow I doubt you’d be that way, if you’re desperate for help over break feel free to call or text me.**

 

Eugene pushed his phone into the pocket of his pants, determined to spend the last ten minutes of his lecture completely focused. He ignored his phone until he was packing up at the end of class. When he pulled out his phone, he found one unread text from Snafu.

**Thanks, Eugene. I’ll call if I need your help**

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Are you nervous, Bob?” Stella asked Leckie quietly as she stared at the highway in front of her.

 

She and Leckie were currently on their way to Stella’s house for Thanksgiving, which was a little over two hours away from Pacific Coast Academy. Leckie turned to look at her and smiled.

 

“Nope,” he said. “Are you nervous?”

 

“No,” she answered. “My parents are really excited to meet you.”

 

“Well I’m excited to meet them,” he said. “If they’re anything like you I’m sure I’ll love them. No need to be worried.”

 

“That’s good to hear.”

 

Two hours later, Stella pulled her little green car into the driveway of a decent-sized house with a small front yard filled with flowers and bushes. Together they walked up the front steps and walked inside.

 

“Mama? Papa? We’re home!” she called out as she toed out of her shoes by the front door; Leckie copied her actions.

 

“Stella?!” a woman called from somewhere in the house.

 

A moment later a tall, thin, olive skinned woman appeared. She smiled widely with tears in her eyes before she wrapped her arms tightly around Stella. When the two finally parted, Stella’s mother turned and inspected Leckie.

 

“Uh, Bob Leckie, ma’am,” he said politely as he held out his hand for Stella’s mom to shake.

 

Instead of gripping his hand, she swatted it away with an exasperated expression before she stepped forwards and hugged Leckie warmly. He was initially taken off guard by her warmness but he returned the hug almost instantly. When he broke away, Leckie found a portly older man standing in the doorway.

 

“Bob, this is my papa,” Stella said with a wide smile on her face as she motioned to the man.

 

“Bob Leckie, sir,” Leckie said as he held out his hand once again.

 

Unlike Stella’s mother, her father smiled, gripped Leckie’s hand, and shook it. He was thankful that the man didn’t hug him too; he wasn’t sure if he was ready to handle that yet.

 

“Strong grip!” Stella’s father declared approvingly when he let go and clapped Leckie on the shoulder.

 

“Stella, why don’t you show Bob the guest room and let you both get settled in and then supper should be ready,” Mrs. Karamanlis offered. “I’m sure you’re both starving after that long drive.”

 

“That sounds good, Mama,” Stella said with a nod before she grabbed Leckie’s hand and pulled him towards the stairs. “Come on, Bob, this way.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“I really don’t wanna be here, Dick,” Nixon spoke into his cell phone as he paced around his bedroom back home in New Jersey. “I’ve been here literally an hour and I already need to leave. I don’t think I can even make it to Thursday.”

 

 _“It can’t be that bad, Lew_ ,” Dick said calmly.

 

“I can and it is,” Lewis groaned while he continued to pace.

 

“ _Why do you say so?”_

 

“So for starters, I walk in the door, Stan walks by and I expect him to give me the cold shoulder, ya know, it’s usual treatment for when we’re not on speaking terms. But instead he stops, gives me _this look_ , and says in what is possibly the snootiest voice I’ve heard in a while _‘ah, the prodigal son_ ’ and then he just fucking walks away.”

 

“ _Well that’s not that ba-”_

 

“But it was just the fucking way he said it. And he knew I didn’t expect him to talk to me so he knew it would fuck with me,” Lew growled into his phone.

 

 _“Okay, anything else?”_ Dick asked in a calm tone.

 

“Yeah. There’s a fucking new lock on the liquor cabinet and he fucking put a lock on my bedroom window,” Nixon yelled as he stopped his pacing and stared at the ugly padlock that now kept his window firmly shut. “It’s bullshit.”

 

_“Now I get the liquor cabinet lock but why the window lock? So you can’t sneak out?”_

 

“I think it’s more of a wave to how I threw my shit out the window before I left and fucked up some of the bushes,” Nixon grumbled as he shuffled across the room and sat down on the edge of his bed. “If I really wanted to sneak out I wouldn’t do it via third floor window and he knows it. It’s just another piece of control to piss me off.”

 

“ _Anything else he’s done_?” Dick asked.

 

“… not really,” Nixon muttered before he let out a loud sigh and collapsed on top of his bed. “Dick, I’m sorry, I’m just being fucking crazy and probably annoying the shit out of you.”

 

“ _No, it’s okay_ ,” he said. _“Really. Vent if you need to vent, that’s what I’m here for, Lew.”_

 

“Thanks,” Lewis said quietly as he stared up at the high ceiling of his bedroom. “…I’m glad I have you.”

 

“ _I’m glad I have you too, Lew,”_ Dick said fondly.

 

“Why? I’m a pain in the ass who drinks too much and who has to be literally pried from bed if you want me up before noon,” Nixon sighed. “Ask Stan, he’ll vouch.”

 

 _“You don’t give yourself enough credit._ ”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled as he ran a hand over the new scruff on his chin. “But what about you? What’s it like back home? How are your parents? And your little sister?”

 

 _“It’s good here. Quiet, but good. Everyone’s good. Sara’s please to have me home again,”_ Dick said. _“There’s not much that happens in Lancaster.”_

 

“Is there so little going on that you’re willing to listen to me bitch?” Nixon teased as he slid back on his bed until his head rested on top of the pillows. “You’re that desperate for entertainment?”

 

 _“Only partially,_ ” Dick answered and Nixon could just picture the little smirk on his face. _“I also kind of like talking to you.”_

 

“Aren’t you sweet,” Nixon sighed before he glanced at the alarm clock that sat on his bedside table. “But I should probably go. I was supposed to be downstairs five minutes ago for dinner and while five minutes late is a little early for me when I’m trying to piss Stan off, I also promised my mom I would at least attempt to behave so I guess a compromise is in order.”

 

 _“Alright then_ ,” he said with a small chuckle. _“Call me when you’ve managed to escape. I’m sure you’ll need to vent after dinner if a tiny altercation at the door set you off.”_

 

“What did I ever do to deserve someone like you?” Nixon asked as he sat up on his bed.

 

Nixon meant this as a serious question. Many times since Nixon met Dick he couldn’t help but wonder what the hell it was that such a nice and caring guy like Dick saw in him. More often than not Nixon had to wonder what he ever did to deserve someone like him. He spent his short life being something of a spoiled, asshole, rich kid and yet he still wound up with the best guy ever. It didn’t add up.

 

“ _Go to dinner, Lew. And behave_ ,” Dick added. “ _I’ll be here waiting when you’re done.”_

 

“Okay,” Nixon agreed before he felt a tiny giddy smile pull at his face. “Love you.”

 

 _“Love you too_ ,” Dick replied softly before he ended the call.

 

He and Dick had recently started to use the big L-word more and more often and it still gave Nixon the same nervous but excited feeling and made a smile come to his face. Damn if he was a closeted sap. Even though his promised Dick he would go downstairs immediately he couldn’t help but let himself revel in the happy emotions that talking with Dick left him. He was sure that all his happy feelings would be gone as soon as he stepped into the dining room with his parents. Three minutes later, Nixon got up and walked downstairs, determined to behave as best as he could.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Leckie wasn’t sure of the last time he was this happy, but it hadn’t been for quite some time. Dinner with Stella’s parents had been amazing and filled with stories and laughter and good food and he had helped clean up after dinner despite everyone telling him he was a guest and didn’t have to help. Mr. Karamanlis had joked that he could use a strong young man like Leckie to help him with the backyard and so Leckie promised to help him during his stay. Mrs. Karamanlis had stuffed him full of delicious home cooking and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to make it through Thanksgiving if they kept feeding him like this. Before he went to bed, Stella’s mother had pulled him aside and informed him that she wasn’t ‘Mrs. Karamanlis’ and that he should call her ‘Mama’ too. It felt like home here and damn did Leckie not want to go back home for Christmas now.

 

He especially didn’t want to leave right now that Stella was pressed up against his side, completely naked. It was late now, almost two in the morning, and she had snuck into his room about an hour ago when she was sure that her parents were dead asleep. On one hand he felt a more than a little uneasy with having sex with Stella in her parents’ house, feet away from where her parents slept, but on the other hand, he really didn’t fucking care; he was too happy.

 

Leckie was taken out of his thoughts when Stella began to move at his side. He smiled down at her as she stared up at him with her warm brown eyes.

 

“Ready for another round?” she asked with a saucy wink.

 

“How about in a couple minutes,” Leckie offered with a grin.

 

“I really tired you out, didn’t I?”

 

“Yeah, something like that.”

 

Stella propped herself up onto her elbow and stared down at Leckie for a moment as she ran her fingers lightly up and down his chest. Leckie reached out and held her hand softly in his own.

 

“I’m really glad you let me come home with you.”

 

“I’m glad you decided to come with me,” Stella said softly.

 

“How could I refuse?”

 

Stella stared down at him for another moment before she looked away and bit her lip. She looked uneasy.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Why…” Stella began before she let out a deep breath and continued. “Why do you feel the need to _escape_ from your family, Bob? I know you’ve told me but, like, specifically. There has to be a reason.”

 

Leckie looked up at Stella for a long moment and felt uneasiness fill him. He had wanted to talk to someone about it, had wanted to talk about it since it happed almost ten years ago, and now he had the chance. However, it wasn’t an easy subject and it forced a wave of grief to hit him that he hadn’t felt in years.

 

“You don’t have to tell, me, Bob, just forget about it,” Stella said after Leckie had been quiet for a long time.

 

“No, no, it’s okay,” Leckie said quietly as he looked back up at the beautiful young woman. “I kinda want to talk about it. And I trust you.”

 

“Okay,” Stella said quietly with a soft smile.

 

“So, you know how I have five older sisters and an older brother?” Stella nodded so Leckie continued. “Well that wasn’t always the case. I used to have two older brothers… but one he, he died when I was a kid.”

 

“I’m so sorry, Bob,” Stella said as she gave his hand a squeeze. “How did he die?”

 

Leckie closed his eyes for a moment and let the memories he tried to block out resurface. He could practically hear the rain pouring outside right now. He opened his eyes and gave himself a shake; the sound of rain went away.

 

“He died in a car accident when I was nine,” Leckie answered calmly.

 

“And how old was he?”

 

“Mike? Michael was ten,” Leckie answered easily enough.

 

 _He was ten,_ Leckie thought while he quietly remembered the smiling boy who had often been mistaken for his twin. _He would always be ten._

 

“What happened?”

 

“Me and Mike were in little league together. We were so close in age we could usually sign up for the same age groups… but uh, it was pouring outside,” Leckie started as he stared at the ceiling of the guest room. “And me and Mike had a game that Saturday morning and our dad was taking us. There was thunder and lightning, so the game got canceled. But as my dad was taking us home, he just… he lost control of the car. It flipped. My dad got messed up, I got some bumps and bruises and a broken arm… but Mike hit his head pretty hard and messed up some other things… Anyhow, Mike didn’t make it to the next day; internal bleeding or something. I was too young to really remember what the doctor’s said and no one in my family ever mentions him at all if they can help it, let alone tell me how exactly my brother died at ten fucking years old. My dad’s been really touched in the head ever since then. No one in my family blames him for what happened, no one even ever thought of blaming him, but we can all see he blames himself more than anyone else ever could.”

 

“I’m so sorry,” Stella repeated before she leaned down and planted a soft kiss on Leckie’s forehead. She let go of his hand and ran her thin fingers through his curly hair in a sign of comfort.

 

“Losing a kid really fucks up a family,” Leckie continued. “And I don’t know, maybe they all think if we treat each other as acquaintances or something if one of us were to drop dead it would be less painful than it was when Mike died. Whatever it is that they’re doing just pisses me off. So we don’t get along. So I don’t like to go home.”

 

Stella leaned down and kissed him and for a moment Leckie forgot about his problematic family and of his young, dead brother who no one talked about and was able to feel happy and comforted once again.

 

“I had a brother who died,” Stella admitted. “He was just a baby, died a few days after he was born and I don’t really remember it, I was only three. But my mom couldn’t have any more kids after that and no one ever talks about him.” She paused for a moment before she looked back at Leckie. “Not that that really compares to you losing your brother who you knew and loved and remember.”

 

“It’s okay,” Leckie said. “It’s still hard. It’s still a loss.”

 

Stella leaned down and kissed him once again. Leckie ran his fingers through her curly brown hair before he flipped them so that he was on top and Stella was pressed into the mattress. Stella let out a loud giggle that make Leckie hush her; he had to remember that her parents were just down the hall and even though they both seemed to love him, he was sure they would love him a lot less if they found him in this position.

 

“Sorry,” she apologized quickly. “Ready for another go?”

 

“Yeah. Yeah, why not,” he said with a grin before he ducked down and kissed her neck.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Web opened his eyes on Wednesday morning and took a moment to listen to the pure silence that surrounded him. Never in all his time at Pacific had he ever heard silence in Hanks House. Not even at three in the morning on a weekday night, there would be the faint noises of people up somewhere in the building. Now, there was nothing. He wasn’t sure if it were comforting or concerning. He thought about how the guys from the fifth floor were back home by now, probably happy to be reunited with their parents and siblings. He couldn’t deny the fact that he was jealous of them.

 

No one knew that he would not return back home for Thanksgiving; everyone on the floor who asked thought he was returning home, even though his family was frosty at best. The dorms were still open for the short break so Webster was able to save some money and stay there instead of blowing money on a cheap hotel room. However, he knew that for winter break, he would have to think of somewhere to stay for almost a month, which was going to be slightly problematic. He didn’t want to think about that. He didn’t want to think of spending Christmas in a hotel alone when he should be back home with his family. There would be no trip to Aspen for him, no drinking hot chocolate by the fire with Annie, no ski race with John, there’d be nothing. Just him, a hotel room, some takeout, and a bunch of shitty Christmas specials to ease the pain.

 

Webster had not called anyone in his family to see if he was even allowed back for the holidays; he didn’t think it would be worth the pain. Based on what had been said when he left he felt the best case scenario was that he was cut out of the family and the worst case would have the police called on him if he were to show up at the house. He stared at his phone and wondered what would happen if he tried to call one of them. David wondered if they had possibly changed their numbers so that he could no longer call them. He didn’t want to try it and find out that he was right.

 

The almost embarrassing loud noises that erupted from his stomach put an end to his pitiful thinking. He glanced at the clock on his desk and saw that it was almost noon; he hadn’t meant to sleep. He didn’t feel awake enough to put on clothes or go to the food hall so he opened up the mini fridge and pulled out one of his many microwaveable meals. While the meal unthawed in the microwave, he went to work on starting a batch of coffee; he was rather useless without any coffee in him, no matter how much sleep he got. Five minutes later, Webster sat at his desk with a steaming cup of coffee and an edible looking meal and was just about to dig in when his phone rang.

 

Irritation filled him as he sat his fork down but also curiosity came to him. Who would call him? None of his friends here called; if people needed to talk they would text. He didn’t fill out weird questionnaires or petitions that asked for his phone number. When he finally reached his phone, he had to stare at the caller I.D. for a long moment before the realization over who was calling him sunk in.

 

_Annie._

 

Feeling sick with apprehension, David answered the call and brought the phone to his ear, desperate to hear his baby sister’s voice.

 

“Annie,” David practically gasped in the phone.

 

“ _David,_ ” she said in her soft and gentle voice.

 

He felt as if he had suddenly had all of his energy drained from his body. Feeling weak, David collapsed onto the edge of his bed and ran a hand through his completely out of hand curls.

 

“How… how are you?” David asked weakly.

 

 _“Oh, I’m okay_ …” she answered. _“Are you okay?”_

“Better now that you called,” David said as he let out a small laugh. There was silence between the two siblings for a long moment before David sighed and spoke again. “I’ve missed you, Annie.”

 

“ _I’ve missed you too_ ,” she said. “ _When are you coming home? I miss you. Gwendolyn misses you.”_ Gwendolyn was the Webster’s three year old Labradoodle. _“I tried to ask mommy when you’d be coming home and she didn’t answer me. Please tell me you’re coming home for Thanksgiving.”_

 

David let out a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose while he felt a million emotions swirl around inside of him. Annie sounded so upset and if there was one thing that he prided himself on when it came to being a big brother was that he made sure Annie was never upset. However, he knew he could fix this. This wasn’t his fault. He wouldn’t crawl back home and tell his parents he was wrong and stupid and misguided. No. Anger began to fill him at the thought of his parents and he quickly forced their images away from his memory. He didn’t want to be in a bad mood while he talked to Annie. He had a habit of allowing his temper to flare and he wouldn’t do it now.

 

“Annie… I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be there this year,” David admitted as gently as he possibly could; his tone did not stop the small wail that came from his little sister.

 

 _“But it’s Thanksgiving, David! Families are supposed to be together!_ ”

 

“Yeah well, our family doesn’t want me there so it’s not going to happen, Annie,” David bit out in a much rougher tone than expected.

 

There was another long pause of quiet between them before Annie let out a shaky breath she continued.

 

“ _I bet you if I got mommy on the phone right now- if you told her that you were just lying before-”_

 

“I’m not going to tell that woman that I was _lying_ , Annie, end of story,” David barked, no longer caring how angry he sounded.

 

 _“It would only be for the holidays, and then_ -” Annie tried again before David cut her off once again.

 

“And then it’d be the summer and I’d come back and they’d expect me to lie again and again when I came back for the holidays again and again and again for the rest of my life,” David said in a tired but firm voice. “That’s the kind of thing I was hoping to avoid what with me telling them I was gay, Annie. So that I wouldn’t have to lie and hide anymore.”

 

 _“It was just an idea,”_ she pouted. _“I just miss you so much. And John’s being really mean lately and even Gwendolyn misses you and whenever I try to bring you up mommy or daddy get really mad and ignore me and nothing’s the same here anymore without you here.”_ It was then that David began to hear the tiny sniffles and sobs that came with his baby sister crying; it broke his fucking heart. _“If you can’t come home then can I come and live with you? Me and Gwendolyn will come there. I don’t like it here anymore, David.”_

 

“Well I’m sure I could squeeze you into my room without much trouble I don’t think I’d be able to keep Gwendolyn a secret,” David sighed as he laid down on his bed.

 

 _“We could keep her outside_ ,” Annie sniffled.

 

“I don’t think it’d work out, Annie, I’m sorry,” Webster sighed. “Mom and Dad would throw a bitch-fit if you came within the same _time zone_ as me. They’d be afraid that I’d be corrupting your morals or something.”

 

 _“They’re wrong,_ ” Annie cried.

 

“Well, I’m glad at least you realize that,” he muttered as he shut his eyes.

 

For the longest time, David tried his best to calm down his little sister over the phone, but he just didn’t have the same effect when he couldn’t give her physical comfort, couldn’t wrap his arms around her, couldn’t play with her hair, couldn’t even tickle her when the tears stopped. He felt so useless.

 

 _“I have to go, David,”_ Annie hiccupped minutes later _. “Mommy and Daddy just got home and if they catch me talking to you I’ll be in trouble.”_

 

“I understand.”

 

“ _…I wish you were here,_ ” Annie said.

 

“And I wish you were _here_ ,” David said before he ended the call.

 

 

David tossed the phone towards his pillows and let out a loud, long groan. He had been awake for about half an hour and he already felt so emotionally drained that he was ready to go back to bed. He glanced at the now cold microwave meal that sat on his desk with his lukewarm cup of coffee and realized now that he didn’t feel even remotely hungry. David closed his eyes and pictured him, his sister, and their dog, somewhere fun and far away from their bullshit family.

 

* * *

 

 

 _“Carwood, dear, can you bring down the extra placemats from the upstairs cupboard?!”_ Mrs. Lipton called up to her eldest child over the many noises that filled the large boarding house.

 

“Yeah, mom, be down in a second!" Lipton called over his shoulder before he turned back to his open laptop. “Sorry, be right back.”

 

“No, it’s okay,” Ron said with a smile from Lipton’s laptop via Skype. “Go. I’ll be here when you get back.”

 

“You say that now, but I’ll be roped into doing ten other things and then you won’t see me for two hours,” Carwood sighed as he got up from his seat at his desk.

 

“I’d still be waiting for you even if it was three hours,” Ron said with a shrug and another lazy smile that made Lipton’s insides squirm slightly.

 

“Right, well, I’ll be back eventually,” he muttered before he left his room and quickly tried to find the desired placemats his mother wanted.

 

When Lipton arrived downstairs he found most of the first floor had descended into a new level of chaos. His little sister, Emma, helped their mother in the large kitchen while his younger brother, Daniel, worked on cleaning and rearranging the dining room. His mother motioned for him to put the placemats in the dining room and when he returned to the kitchen, his sister rounded on him.

 

“Where have you been all day?” Emma asked bossily with her hands on her hips. “We really could have used your help like, all day long. You do realize how useless Danny is with basically everything and anything house-keeping related?”

 

“I can hear you,” Dan said loudly from his place in the dining room.

 

“That was the plan,” Emma called back before she returned her surprisingly fierce gaze onto her eldest brother. “But you. Really, where have you been? Usually you’re the one trying to get us to help.”

 

“Sorry, I was talking to a friend,” Lipton admitted as he leaned against the counter.

 

“A friend, huh?” his mother asked as she looked at him from over her shoulder. “What kind of friend.”

 

“The friend kind, mom,” Carwood said exasperatedly.

 

“Sure, that’s what they all say,” Emma said with a roll of her eyes. “Now quit yapping with your friend and give us a hand.”

 

“Emma, stop snapping at your brother for five seconds, okay?” Mrs. Lipton admonished before she gave her eldest a curious look. “You making a lot of friends at school, honey?”

 

“Uh, yeah, I am, actually,” Lipton admitted with a wide smile as he thought about all the loud and sometimes obnoxious residence of Hanks House.

 

“Well of course you are, you’re wonderful,” Mrs. Lipton said as she flicked a wooden spoon at him. “But it’d be nice if you said bye to your friend and then came down here and helped. I’m sure you can talk to them later.”

 

“Uh, right, yeah. Sorry, mom,” Carwood said with a slight flush as he pushed off of the counter and began to walk towards the stairs. “Be back in a minute.”

 

Carwood ran up the stairs and down the hall to his room where he found that Ron had waited for him to return to their conversation. He gave the older man a slightly sheepish expression as he returned to his desk chair.

 

“You returned quicker than I thought you would,” he said.

 

“Yeah well, unfortunately we’re going to have to stop this for now,” he told Ron. “My help is needed downstairs. Sorry.”

 

“It’s understandable,” Ron said with a nod. “I’m not offended or anything. We’ll just have to continue this conversation later today or maybe even tomorrow.”

 

“Okay, I’d like that,” Carwood said with a nod. “See you later, Ron.”

 

“Goodbye, Carwood.”

 

Carwood managed to send Ron one more apologetic smile before he exited Skype and closed his laptop. He then ran down the stairs as fast as he could and did what he was instructed to do for the next two hours. Eventually, Lipton’s mother allowed him to take a break before dinner and shooed him away when he asked if she was sure he didn’t need his help anymore. Once back in the peace and relative quiet of his bedroom, Lipton collapsed on top of his bed. He glanced at his closed laptop that sat on his desk on the opposite side of the room before he sighed and pulled out his cellphone from his pants pocket. He quickly typed a text and sent it to Ron.

 

**Are you eating diner yet?**

 

Lipton barely had to wait a beat for a response.

 

 **No**.

 

Lipton grinned somewhat goofily before he found Ron’s number among his contacts and dialed his number. Ron picked up on the second ring.

 

 _“Shouldn’t you be helping your mother prepare a Thanksgivings Day feast right now?_ ” Ron asked in greeting.

 

“Guess I didn’t have what it took to help her out this year. My sister Emma’s helping her finish it,” Carwood answered with a smile. “So I have some downtime before dinner. When’s your dinner?”

_“Uh, whenever I want it really_ ,” Ron said after he let out a breath into the phone.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

_“Well my mom either can’t cook or doesn’t want to, I don’t really know, so she always called a caterer and she’s currently in her home office, working, and told me  to tell her whenever I wanted to eat she’d take a break from work and eat with me.”_

 

“What?” Lipton asked. “She’s _working?_ It’s Thanksgiving.”

 

“ _Yeah. Dedicated business woman; can hardly manage to pull herself away from work for an hour or two,”_ Ron said. His tone was light but Carwood got the feeling that it was just a cover for how he really felt.

 

“What about your dad?”

 

“ _My Dad? Oh, he’s in Boston right now, I think so anyways_ ,” Speirs answered. _“Business or at least that’s what he claims to be doing.”_

 

“Who has business during Thanksgiving?” he asked in mild shock.

 

_“Well, I don’t think he really has work today, but he had to work yesterday and he probably has work tomorrow so he couldn’t justify it to himself to fly out just for today to have dinner with a family he hasn’t seen in about four months. Understandable really.”_

 

“Not really,” Lipton said quietly. “So what, it’s just you and your mom?”

 

“ _Yup,_ ” he sighed _. “Just us two in the big, empty house.”_

 

“That sort of sucks if you ask me,” Lipton said.

_“You get used to it.”_

 

There was quiet on the line for a moment but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Lipton let his mind wander for a second while he listened to the muffled noises of his mother and sister as they moved about the downstairs. He heard the other residents of the boarding house as they moved about their own rooms. The house was never quiet, always filled with life and activity. Lipton couldn’t help but wonder what it was like for Ron to stay in an almost empty home where the only other resident didn’t often talk to him.

 

“Why… why does you dad work so far away from you?” Lipton asked. “I mean, he must be able to find a place closer to Montana than _Boston_.”

 

“ _Well, I guess there is. He could work from home like my mom but he doesn’t,”_ Ron said with a small laugh.

 

“And why doesn’t he?”

 

 _“I don’t think he likes us very much,”_ Ron admitted in a light tone. _“I mean, he spent years dragging us both around the country for work. And then he spent all this money to build a house in the middle of nowhere for us, where he built a rather impressive home office, and then he takes any chance he can to go somewhere else to work, usually on the other side of the country. And when his only son is home after being away from months, he doesn’t return.”_

 

“No offense but your dad sounds like an asshole,” Carwood said which caused Ron to laugh into the phone. “What are you laughing about?”

_“I don’t know if I’ve ever heard you swear before, Car,_ ” Speirs chuckled which caused Lipton to blush slightly. _“It’s endearing.”_

 

“Oh shut up,” Lipton pouted. “Sorry I’m not like Ray or Harry who swears every other word.”

_“There’s nothing wrong with it.”_

 

“ _Carwood!”_ Mrs. Lipton’s voice called up from the ground floor once again. “ _It’s time to eat!”_

 

“Coming!” Carwood called after he had moved his phone away from his mouth momentarily. “I’ve got to go now, Ron.”

 

 _“No problem. I’ll talk to you later then,_ ” Ron said simply _. “Hope you have a wonderful diner.”_

 

“Thanks, you too,” Carwood said. “Bye.”

_“Goodbye, Carwood.”_

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Ruth! Warren! Quit fighting and behave!” Skip’s mother admonished as she swatted at her two younger children to behave.

 

“We’re not fighting, Mom,” Ruth exclaimed innocently before she reached out and attempted to poke Skip’s side again. “We’re just playing.”

 

“Yeah, it’s all good, Mom,” Skip said as he swatted his little sister’s hand away and flicked her shoulder in retaliation. “Good old fashion sibling bonding.”

 

“Well you can have sibling bonding time after dinner when there’s not the threat of you two knocking the potatoes onto the floor!” Mrs. Muck cried as she reached over the table and grabbed Skip’s hand before he could do anything else that might ruin the dinner. “Honestly, if you two don’t behave I’m going to make one of you switch seats with Elmer.”

 

“Don’t drag me into their mess,” the eldest Muck child exclaimed with a shake of his head. “They’d just fight around me and cause an even bigger problem than this.”

 

“Well maybe we can all act like the adults we are-”

 

“I’m not an adult, I’m fifteen,” Ruthie chimed in.

 

“Well then you can sit in a highchair and wear a bib and then go to be at eight, alright?” Mrs. Muck sighed with a roll of her eyes. “We are all adults _or rather close_ to adults so why can’t we all just act that way?”

 

“Because it’s basically impossible for families to act grown up together, regardless of age,” Skip said wisely. “I’m sure we’re gonna be acting like this when we’re eighty, even if one poke from our arthritic fingers causes a broken hip.”

 

“Okay, okay, let’s all just keep our hands to ourselves and try to act like adults and we’ll enjoy this delicious Thanksgiving dinner, okay?”

 

“Okay,” the three Muck children said in agreement before they began to dig into the extensive diner.

 

The four people were just about finished with the first serving when there was the unmistakable noise of knocking at the front door. Everyone paused and turned to look in the direction of the noise with confusion written over their faces.

 

“Who the hell could that be?” Skip asked as he glanced at his brother from across the table.

 

“Warren, watch your mouth,” Mrs. Muck snapped before she glanced back at the front door as another knock sounded throughout the house. Skip watched as his mother’s brow creased in confusion. “I’m not expecting anyone…”

 

“Is it a delivery man?” Elmer asked.

 

“Who works on Thanksgiving?” Ruth asked. “Isn’t everything shut down today?”

 

“I’ll get it,” Skip said as he got up from his seat and headed towards the front door.

 

Skip answered the door and stared at the person who stood on the front porch for a long moment. If he were to create a list of people that might possibly arrive at their front door on Thanksgiving this person would be at the bottom of the list, even lower than the Easter Bunny and Elvis. There was no way this could be happening. This person could not be here at his house as he stood in the same doorway he had exited eleven years ago. He couldn’t be here because Skip had told himself for years that they were dead or at the very least very, very far away. He couldn’t be here…

 

“Skippy! You’ve grown!”

 

Skip tightened his grip on the doorknob while anger coursed through him like never before. How dare he show up here.

 

“Are you gonna let me in or are you just going to keep me out here in the cold?” he asked quietly when Skip continued to glare silently at the man. “Are you even going to say anything…?”

 

“What are you doing here, Dad?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I'll try to get the next chapter up within like two weeks, but who knows what will happen to me so yeah... comments and kudos are appreciated :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanksgiving drama prt2. Basically it's people calling their significant other when shit hits the fan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took longer than expected and I am a horrible person when it comes to updating on time

         

* * *

“Quit your pouting, Shelton,” Gene said as he drove his old pick-up truck down the empty two-lane road. “I’m not forcing you to take another plane ride, I’m taking you to what should be a nice Thanksgiving dinner.”

 

“Yeah well you forced me on a plane ride to get here and you’re gonna force me on another one when it’s over,” Shelton grumbled as he stared out the truck window. “I could have just stayed at school and saved my ass two plan trips and saved you a couple hundred bucks. Plane tickets ain’t cheap you know.”

 

“Heaven forbid you actually have a nice Thanksgiving for once,” Gene muttered under his breath as he took a left onto a dirt road.

 

Shelton didn’t respond to Gene’s comment. It was true; he hadn’t ever had what any normal person would call a decent Thanksgiving. The closest thing he had ever had to a decent Thanksgiving was when he was eight and his father had won a hundred bucks off of a scratch-off lottery ticket. His dad had brought home fried chicken and together they had watched football on their black and white television until his dad drank too much and became belligerent; Snafu had spent the rest of his eighth Thanksgiving walking around his neighborhood until it was late and the police told him to go back home.

 

Gene stopped the truck in front of an old, slightly rickety two-story white house that was surrounded by overgrown grass. When Gene hopped out of the truck, Shelton did the same and followed Gene up the old wooden steps. The white paint was chipping in places and the chains on the porch swing were rusty but the house appeared to be in decent condition for a building that seemed to be completely surrounded by swamps. Snafu liked to joke with Sledge about how he was from the bayou and was raised by gators but really, Gene was the boy from the bayou.

 

“Maw-maw!” Gene called as kicked off his shoes by the front poor before he opened up the screen door. “We’re here!”

 

Shelton looked around the slightly overcrowded living room for a long moment while he listened to the shuffling of footsteps farther in the house. While Gene walked further into the small house, he stayed planted in the living room while he inspected some of the many photos that lined the walls. Some photos were rather old, like the one of a wedding party that took place approximately fifty years ago or the yellowing photo of a young man holding a newborn, but most contained the same dark-haired blue-eyed boy. In photographs, Snafu watched his friend grow up.

 

A brown-haired young woman, who couldn’t have been much older than twenty, smiled out of a yellowing photo as she held a newborn baby with a few wisps of inky black hair in her arms. There was a small picture that hung by the window of a tiny Gene Roe who sat on the lap of a young man that could have only been his father; if the photo hadn’t looked aged Snafu could have easily thought Gene had a kid hidden away somewhere. A slightly disgruntled ten-year-old Gene looked at the camera as he half-heartily posed in a little league outfit. A candid of a Gene that looked like the boy Snafu met years before looked up from his seat at the front desk of the clinic. There was a photo of a slightly younger and rounder-faced version of Gene who stood tall and proud in his blue EMT uniform. A large photo hung in the center of the opposite wall of Gene in his high school graduation robes and a small, old, teary-eyed woman who had to be his grandmother.

 

Gene Roe was never one to brag about his home life, from the small bits of information Shelton had gained over the years he had figured out that Gene was the result of a one-night-stand and his parents never married, rarely got along with each other, and both unfortunately died rather early in young Gene’s life which forced him to be raised by his father’s mother, but regardless of amount of grief and hardships that occurred early in his life it was clear that he was loved and cared for his entire life.

 

“Shelton,” Gene said as he popped back into the living room. “You gonna stand there all night or are you gonna come into the kitchen and be polite.”

 

“When have I ever been polite?” Shelton drawled as he turned away from the photos and smirked at Gene.

 

“You can pretend to be polite from time to time,” Gene said as he jerked his head towards the kitchen. “Come on. It won’t hurt.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Georgie, can you pass the turkey?” one of Luz’s many cousins asked loudly over the din that filled the party hall.

 

Fifty or so members of the Luz clan were crowded into an old party hall in West Warrick, Rhode Island for Thanksgiving. George Luz found himself crowded at a table with Stella and a handful of cousins his own age. George looked up from his plate and found a curious pair of brown eyes that were rather similar to his own.

 

“Which George are you talking too?” Luz asked as he glanced around his area for the platter of turkey.

 

“Whichever one is by the turkey,” his cousin Lucy said with a roll of her eyes.

 

“Not me then,” Luz muttered before he ducked into his turkey.

 

George let out a small breath of exasperation while the other two George Luz’s who sat at the table tried to figure out who was closer to the desired dish. It was times like this that he questioned the sanity of his family. The number of people who were named George Luz in the party hall was excessive. The original George Luz was the patriarch of the family, George’s grandfather or the Original George Luz as he and some of his cousins had called him from time to time; Grandpa Luz had come to America from Portugal when he was a boy with his family. Grandpa Luz had had five children and Luz’s father, being the first-born son, had been named George as well. Following after his own father, Mr. Luz had named his first-born son George as well. That would have been fine with George but unfortunately, some of his Aunts and Uncles lacked a little bit of sense because they too named their eldest son George in honor of the patriarch. It always ruffled George’s feathers when he thought about it for two long due to the fact that he felt he was the only one who should have been named George; most if not all of his fellow George’s felt the same, tired of wondering who people were talking to. A few of his cousins declared that they would change their name when they got old enough but Luz knew they never would; their parents would skin them alive if they dared to rid themselves of the proud and historical name of George. All Luz knew was that he would never name his son George.

 

“Hey, dork,” Stella called out to him which broke him from his funk. “You’ve been staring at the peas for like five hours. Are you finally brain dead?”

 

“No. Not yet,” Luz sighed as he blinked his eyes a few times. “Just thinking about how dumb this family is sometimes.”

 

“Sometimes I worry that if I were born before you I would have been named George,” Stella admitted seriously.

 

“I think they might have at least named you Georgia,” Luz said. “And then you’d be the only Georgia and that wouldn’t have been awful.”

 

“Except my name would have been _Georgia,_ ” Stella sneered.

 

“What’s wrong with that?” George asked.

 

“Well, for one, it’s too close to being George, and second, I like my name and I would change it when I got old enough to do it.”

 

“No you wouldn’t,” Luz said with a roll of his eyes.

 

“Yeah I would.”

 

“I’m gonna change my name when I’m eighteen,” one of the three George Luz’s said from across the table. “Gonna switch my first name and my middle name.”

 

“No you’re not,” Luz sighed as he returned to his meal.

 

“Why do you say so?”

 

“Your mom would fucking kill you if you tried,” he said deadpan. “Like I bet you in two years you will not change your name because your mother scares the shit out you.”

 

“Is this a serious bet?”

 

“Fuck yeah, why not? I could use another twenty bucks,” Luz said before he reached his hand across the table and shook his cousin’s hand. He then pointed his fork at his family members that sat at the table. “You are all witnesses to this bet, got it?”

 

Soon after that, most of his cousins got up from the table and began to wander around the hall in search of something to do or someone to play with. George stayed at the table while he fiddled with his phone, not really in the mood to talk to people for once. Usually, George would have been pleased to reunite with his family, talk about school and friends, especially now that he left for college and experience so many new things. However, for whatever reason, George found himself wanting to leave. It felt a little strange to think it, but he missed Pacific Coast and Hanks House and all of his friends there. He missed the place where not only was he the only George but he was the only Luz. There wasn’t any question of if a person wanted him when they called his name. It was nice. Here, however, he was just one a heard. The only thing that seemed remotely special about him was that he was the oldest third-generation George Luz, which basically meant he was the rightful king to a thrown that no one really wanted anyhow.

 

Luz glanced back down at his phone and stared at a list of old text messages he had received or sent from his friends from school. Each one just made him want to return back to school even more than before. An odd feeling filled George the more he looked through his phone and reread old texts. He couldn’t quite put a name on the feeling and it wasn’t until he was packed into the front seat of one of the two minivans his family used that he realized what he had felt.

 

He felt homesick.

 

* * *

 

 

Eugene and Sidney sat in his bedroom back in Mobile, Alabama, Eugene on the bed and Sidney on the floor, while they waited for the Thanksgiving feast to be finished. The Phillips and the Sledges had been friends since before the two boys had been born. Eugene’s father had gone to medical school with Sidney’s father and the two families had been together even since. They were so close that they spent Thanksgiving together, which is why Sidney and Eugene now currently sat in Eugene’s bedroom while noises from the kitchen floated upstairs.

 

Ever since Eugene and Sid had left PCU, they had spent most of their time together. They realize, even as roommates, they didn’t see each other all that much or hang out at all. It was weird. Eugene wondered when exactly his best friend in the world had been downgraded to roommate status but both boys understood and knew it was unintentional; they were both busy doing their own separate thing, which was good.

 

“So are you still flirting with that one pre-med girl?” Eugene asked as he flicked through a number of holiday specials on the television; he settled on the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special.

 

“Which one?” Sidney asked with a grin.

 

“Right. I forgot, you’re the biggest flirt this side of the Mississippi.”

 

“I would say I’m not but I think you may be right there, Eugene,” Sid admitted with a shrug. “As for the girls, Anna slapped me and Renee’s only interested in being friends; I think she has a crush on the Doc or something.”

 

“So does that mean that you aren’t actively chasing anyone?”

 

“No. I actually started talking to another girl from the second floor. She seems really nice and sweet,” Sidney said with a soft smile. “Her names Gwen. She’s an English major.”

 

“Well, I better go talk to her when we get back and try to talk some sense into her,” Eugene muttered as he stared at the television with blank eyes.

 

“Oh, you’re hilarious,” Sid said sarcastically as he picked up a pillow from the floor and threw it directly at Eugene’s face.

 

“Hey!”

 

“What about you, Eugene? You eyeing any cute girls when I’m not looking?” Sidney teased.

 

“Nope,” Eugene admitted with a chuckle. “There are no women.”

 

“Any cute _guys?_ ” Sidney asked after a brief pause.

 

“What?” Eugene asked, feeling as if he had been shot with electricity.

 

“What? You could be talking to guys if you wanted. Nothing wrong with it either. I mean, like, if I were gay, you know, you wouldn’t be that bad,” Sidney said as he gave Eugene an appraising look. “Like a little nerdy and ginger but I mean some people are into that. Hell, why don’t you have both. Take you pick of the litter.”

 

“What the hell are you talking about, Sid?” Eugene asked, feeling genuinely confused.

 

“Nothin’, Eugene, just forget it,” Sidney said as he raised his hand in mock surrender. “You know, college, people experiment. And, yeah, forget what I’m saying.”

 

“…are you hitting on me, Sid?” Eugene teased after a long and somewhat uncomfortable pause; Sidney scoffed at this and Eugene chuckled. “Because I’m flattered, honestly I am, but I’m afraid I just don’t see you that way.”

 

“Oh, shut you, you greaser,” Sid said as he turned away with a smile on his face.

 

“I mean, do you want me to tell Gwen that you’re confused? I can announce it at dinner if you think that’s more appropriate.”

 

“Fuck off,” Sidney said with a grin as he got up from his place on the ground and wacked Eugene again with another pillow.

 

“Hey, you started it,” Eugene snorted before he grabbed his own pillow and retaliated.

 

Two minutes later and their impromptu wrestling match was interrupted by a knock at the door. When they looked at who was at the door, they found Sidney’s sixteen-year-old sister standing in the doorway with an exasperated expression on her face.

 

“Dinner’s ready and if you two idiots feel like acting your age maybe you can sit at the big kids table,” Amelia stated in a flat tone before she turned on her heal and walked away.

 

“Come on,” Sidney said as he got up and pulled Eugene up along with him. “Wrestling your skinny ass has worked me up quite an appetite.”

 

* * *

 

 

Snafu was quiet through most of the dinner. Eugene’s grandmother was the embodiment of sweet but sassy southern old lady and cooked some of the best food he had ever had before. Eugene talked to his grandmother about grades and classes and forced Snafu to be polite and talk about his own classes and what he thought of PCU. Everything was fine, normal even.

 

It felt weird.

 

Near the end of the dinner, Gene’s grandmother had disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the two boys alone at the table.

 

“So, Merriell.”

 

Snafu stopped playing with the remnants of his dinner and stared at the plate. Gene’s tone was light but no good conversation for him ever stared with the words ‘So, Merriell’. He mentally braced himself for the worst.

 

“I was talking to my grandma.”

 

Gene paused again and waited for a moment to see if Snafu would say anything in response; when it was clear that Snafu was more focused on playing with the food on his plate, he continued.

 

“She said that if you wanted you could move out of the clinic and stay in the extra room in the house,” Gene said quietly as he folded his hands on top of the table.

 

“What?” Shelton asked as he finally looked up at Gene.

 

“I told her about it a while back and she likes you and wants to help you out so she cleaned out the extra room the other day,” Gene continued. “Part of the reason I wanted you to come home with me for Thanksgiving was so you could check out the place for yourself and then get settled in you room-”

 

“What makes you think that I want to move from the clinic to here?” Snafu asked with a bite in his voice.

 

It was as if all of the calm and relaxation that had filled him during dinner had just suddenly disappeared. Gene stared at him with his mouth slightly open, as if he was stuck on what he should say next to him. It took a moment for Gene to close his mouth, tilt his head slightly to the side, and think of a proper response; Shelton could practically see the gears turning in his head. In all the years that Shelton had known Gene, he had realized that he and Gene had similar levels of social skills: none. However, while he worked around his lack of social skills with creepy faces and even weirder and angrier responses, Gene responded with long periods of silence while he tried to think that often left people feeling awkward.

 

“I just thought that you would be more-”

 

“Yeah, you _thought._ But you didn’t ask,” Snafu bit out as he leaned back in his chair. He stared at Gene for another moment before a thought came to him. “Unless you want me out of the clinic and you’re just tryin’ to find another place for me to crash. Don’t wanna kick me out on my ass.”

 

“I’m not kickin’ you out of the clinic, Shelton,” Gene said evenly.

 

“Sure as shit seems that way,” Snafu said, his voice rising.

 

“Well I ain’t.”

 

“How do I know you haven’t already cleared out the clinic and brought my shit here?” Snafu asked angrily.

 

“I haven’t, I promise,” Gene said; there was anger rising in his voice as well and for whatever reason it only made Snafu want to argue more and hoped it would get Gene pissed. “You don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to.”

 

“Good cus I don’t wanna stay here,” Snafu growled as he stood up so violently that his chair fell to the floor with a loud clatter.

 

“Shelton,” Gene said as he stood up slowly and silently with his hands raised slightly, as if he were about to approach a wild animal, “you don’t have to move out. Why don’t you calm down?”

 

“Why don’t you just fuck off?” Snafu asked as he took a step closer to Gene; he knew it wasn’t the best response but he wasn’t going for witty comebacks right now.

 

“What the hell has gotten into you?” Gene asked angrily and quietly, never one to raise his voice. “Are you really that pissed? That I offered you a nicer place to stay?”

 

“Maybe I’m sick of your offers,” Snafu shrugged. “Maybe I’m sick of you takin’ pity on poor old me.”

 

“I’m not pitying you, Shelton, I’m tryin’ to be nice,” Gene said.

 

“Oh quit actin’ like you don’t and just admit that mister perfect little medicine boy has always taken pity out on the little lost sewer rat from New Orleans,” Snafu sneered. “Ya took pity on me by forcin’ me to go to the clinic when we were kids and you took pity on me when you let me stay in a storage room and you’re takin’ pity on me again.”

 

“That’s not how it is, Shelton,” Gene growled, his patience wavering.

 

“Yeah that, there’s more,” Snafu snapped. “Ya made me go to college like you so I’d be your weird little clone or some shit-”

 

“I didn’t make you,” Gene snapped, his temper lost. “I told you about it because if there’s one fucking thing I know about you is that you’ve been running away from home your whole damn life! I told you because if there’s one thing you want in this world is to get the fuck away from your home with your shitty dad-”

 

“Shut the fuck up, Gene!” Snafu thundered.

 

“Oh, you’re going to defend that piece of shit who beat the hell outta you?” Gene yelled.

 

“Fuck you!” Snafu yelled.

 

“Gonna defend the guy who beat you until you had to run for two days until ya felt safe but ya get pissed at the guy who’s just trying to help you?”

 

“Fuck you!” Snafu yelled again.

 

He didn’t care anymore. He had gotten Gene pissed and now he realized in the back of his head he was in trouble but Snafu wasn’t one to back down. He didn’t know how. He had started this shit and there was only one way to end it. Fuming, Snafu stepped forward until he was within arm’s reach of Gene. He gripped the front of Gene’s shirt with one hand and raised his other, ready to throw a punch, when the kitchen door swung open. Snafu glanced over his shoulder and found Gene’s grandmother standing in the doorway, looking pissed but level headed.

 

“What the hell is goin’ on in here?” she demanded with her hands on her hips.

 

“Nothin’,” Snafu muttered as he let his hands drop to his sides before he took a large step backwards away from Gene.

 

Snafu turned and quickly left the kitchen. He barely stopped moving long enough to jam his feet back into his boots and grab his coat before he was bounding down the front porch with his keys in his hand; luckily Gene gave him the extra key to his truck. Snafu climbed into the old truck, started it, and turned around on the gravel road. He needed to get the hell away from here.

 

* * *

 

 

“You’re not honestly letting him stay here, mom,” Skip yelled an hour later as he watched his mother put away the Thanksgiving leftovers. “You can’t.”

 

“Why can’t I?” she asked as she closed a Tupperware container with more force than necessary. “This is my house. He’s technically still my husband. I decide what happens to him. And right now, I say he’s allowed to stay in the guest room.”

 

“He left us,” Skip reminded her angrily as he gestured in the general direction his father now sat in. “He _abandoned_ us.”

 

“ _Warren,_ ” his mother started but Skip continued.

 

“Three kids and he left them,” Skip continued.

 

“Warren-”

 

“He was the main provider and he left-”

 

“And then I became the main provider,” his mother said firmly as practically threw the plastic container into the fridge.

 

“You became the _only_ provider!” Warren yelled.

 

“We made due.”

 

“We struggled and couldn’t pay bills and almost lost the house-”

 

“But we didn’t. Because we’re hard workers and we can pull anything together with some elbow grease and determination,” Mrs. Muck said firmly as she leaned against the counter and stared at her middle child with a look that dared him to continue with his tirade.

 

Skip usually wasn’t very confrontational and he knew it. He tried to be the calm voice of reason when there was conflict but this was a whole other story. Skip remembered the time before his dad left and the time after it and he remembered how vastly different those two times were. He remembered the family outings to amusement parks and then he remembered having the cable shut off because it was too expensive. He remembered his mom being home every day when he came home from school and then not seeing her for more than a couple minutes a day because she was working every last hour she could. He remembered one of his parents tucking him in and then he remembered tucking in Ruthie because their mother was working and their father had abandoned them. Yeah, his mother was right; with some hard work and determination they could get through a lot of shit. But just because the managed to get out of it didn’t mean that they should forget about it.

 

“He left us, mom,” Skip repeated quietly but seriously. “He left us, his wife and his three young children, to go run off with his young secretary. He thought we were a hindrance, so he got rid of us. But since he couldn’t kick us out of the house he left.”

 

“Warren,” his mother said quietly. “We only struggled for a little while-”

 

“The school year that started up after dad left? Ruthie got teased every single day because she was wearing clothes from the Good Will. Me and E got teased too because we got free lunch and everyone knew we were poor. Did you know that fourth grade went on a field trip to the museum that year? I didn’t tell you because it cost money to go; money I knew we didn’t have. E got teased because his glasses were eighty-five percent tape and we didn’t have the money to get him new glasses. And even though a year or two later we showed up at the same school with the same people with new clothes and lunches from home and went on field trips, we still got teased and people asked if we were still poor and if we could afford to wear that or do that or eat that,” Skip said bitterly while he felt a million emotions from his childhood well up inside him. “Now mom, I’m not telling these things because I blame you. You kept this family together and you did the best you could and the best was enough because we’re fine now. So please don’t think I’m telling you this to make you feel bad. I’m telling you this because all of that, all of that petty childhood shit that was more detrimental than imagined, that was all because of that man. That man who just waltzed back in here after nine years of jack shit and now probably thinks he can come back here because he finally ditched his girlfriend. And we can’t just let him in here. I can’t just let him come back here.”

 

Skip looked at his mother and felt his heart crumple at the sight of tears in her eyes. Mrs. Muck let out a shaky breath before she looked up at her younger son with damp eyes. She nodded.

 

“I know, honey, I know,” she insisted. “I know he tore this family apart. But I just need him to stay here for a little bit.”

 

“ _Why_?” Skip asked; he was relieved to hear his mother realized what kind of person his father was but he was still confused as to why she had offered him the guest room.

 

“I need him to sign the divorce papers while I have him here,” she said she wiped her face on the apron around her waist.

 

“What?”

 

“I’m still legally married to the asshole and now that he’s finally back here I’m going to use it to my advantage. And then I will be able to clean my hands of him and we’ll be able to move on from this completely,” Skip’s mother said brightly. She smiled at her son for a moment before a more serious emotion set on her face. “So that means that you can’t chase him out of here before he’s allowed to leave, okay?”

 

“…okay, I got it,” Skip mumbled as he turned his gaze to the floor. “I’ll behave. For now.”

 

“That’s my little boy,” she said as she gave his cheek a light pat. “Why don’t you go call Faye or Alex and see what they’re up to? Find something to keep your mind off of it.”

 

“Yeah, I’ll go call them,” Skip agreed. “I think Faye wanted to go Black Friday shopping or something. Penk’s probably bored being back home with all of his sisters.”

 

“Good. Call you friends, have fun, and try not to think about it,” she said brightly before she walked out of the kitchen and returned to the dining room, where Ruth was cleaning up.

 

Skip turned around and walked through the other door that led to the stair case and walked upstairs. He didn’t plan on it, but when he passed by the guest room he stopped. The door was halfway open and he was able to spot his father as he sat on the edge of the bed. Skip knew he should move on before his father saw him, do as his mother told him to and call Penkala or Faye, but for whatever reason, Skip touched the wooden door and pushed it all the way open. His father looked up and shot him a look of pleasant surprise.

 

“Skip!” he exclaimed as he pushed himself off of the bed and into a standing position.

 

“Don’t come any closer,” Skip warned as he leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest.

 

“What…?”

 

“Stay out of my reach or I will not be responsible for what I may do to your face,” Skip warned darkly, which caused the fake grin to slip off of his father’s face.

 

“Are you threatening me?” he asked as he took the slightest of steps forward.

 

“I’m not threatening you, I’m _promising_ you,” he said with a shrug. “Come any closer and I will beat your sorry ass.”

 

“Don’t you dare say that to your father-”

 

“I don’t have a father,” Skip cut him off in a deadly quiet tone he didn’t realize he had. “You just happen to be the man who’s partially responsible for my birth and then left when I was a child. You are _nothing_ to me. You have no authority over me. You are an intruder in my house and it’s only because of my mother’s wishes that you are not lying in the gutter on your sorry ass. So you stay away from me. You stay away from E. You stay away from Ruthie-”

 

“You can’t order me around. You’re not the boss of this house,” his father said with a dark chuckle. “And if I want to see the kids I will. You can’t stop me.”

 

“Is that what you think?” Skip asked as a sneer curled on his face. “You have no idea, buddy. You don’t think I’m the boss of his house? You better think again.”

 

Skip thought back to those rough first years after their father had left them. He had been nine at the time and while his older brother had been eleven, a little older, wiser, and slightly more capable, Skip had risen more to the challenge of taking care of the family. He didn’t blame Elmer, his brother did what he could when he could but he was busy with school and extracurricular activities and having a life. But it had been Skip who had made sure his mom was sleeping and eating, who made sure they were kept somewhat presentable and looted the lost and found for things they could use. Skip had gotten a paper route and mowed lawns and shoveled driveways. He made sure Ruthie didn’t get teased for wearing old clothes and when she did, he and Alex and sometimes Elmer if he was feeling rebellious would drop wads of gum on her tormenters heads at recess. In sixth grade he attempted to beat up two ninth graders who had attacked Elmer; he had gotten the shit beaten out of him and his mother had been so mad at him but it had been the principle of the matter and Elmer thanked him. He didn’t mean to overshadow his big brother with becoming the man of the house but it had happened and his brother accepted the shift in power; Skip just wanted to help his loved ones in every way possible. So yeah, he felt as if this house was his house, his rule, and this asshole could not just step in here and think he was king again.

 

“So you’re going to listen to me,” Skip continued quietly by firmly. “You will not talk to the others. If they want to talk to you then so be it but you will not talk to them, you will not look at them, you will not cause any more pain than you’ve already caused. Do you understand?”

 

“You can’t possibly tell me not to talk to my children-”

 

“You don’t have children. You gave them up. You abandoned them. So don’t act as if you suddenly care, as if these last nine years didn’t happen,” he growled as he jabbed a finger at him. “Do you understand?”

 

His father was silent for a long moment while he frowned at the finger pointed at him. Skip was almost sure he would continue to fight him when the man nodded his head and sighed bitterly.

 

“I understand.”

 

“Good,” he said before he backed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

 

As Skip walked to his room, he passed by his sisters. Ruthie poked her head out of the door and stared at Skip as he passed.

 

“What was that all about?” she asked gently, even though she had heard most of the conversation through the wall.

 

“Nothing, Ruthie,” Skip snapped as he entered his own room, slammed the door behind him, and collapsed on his bed

 

Soon he would call Faye and Alex and tell them all about what happened. He would feel better once he was out of the house and with people who he loved and loved him back and made him happy and who might be able to make him forget about this night for a little bit. He’d do that soon. Right now, he just wanted to stay in the general peace and quiet of his room.

 

Sometime later, maybe it was ten minutes later, maybe it was an hour later, he heard a door slam and it jolted Skip out of his trance. He sat up, pulled out his cell phone, and dialed his girlfriend, Faye. She picked up on the third ring.

 

_“Hey, honey,”_ she answered brightly.

 

The sound of her voice felt as if he were being plunged into a warm bath. It calmed him. Skip let out a long breath as he ran his fingers through his messy hair.

 

_“What’s the matter?”_ she asked.

 

“I’ve just had a really…really weird night, Faye,” Skip said as he rubbed his eyes. “Need some distraction. Think you could help me with that?”

 

_“Only if you tell me what’s got you so upset,_ ” Faye said.

 

“Of course I’d tell you. What don’t I tell you?” Skip asked as a smile came to his face.

 

_“You probably keep something from me,”_ Faye said. “ _There’s gotta be some weird story from school or something stupid you and Alex did that you never told me.”_

 

“Nope. I’ve told you everything,” Skip said. “Or I will have after tonight.”

 

_“Is it something that Alex should know as well?”_ Faye asked.

 

That was another thing he loved about Faye; loved it about Penk too. Both of them understood the other was very important to Skip but in different ways and neither ever tried to make him choose who he thought was more important. The two people got along perfectly and were friends in their own sort. It made Skip immensely happy.

 

“Yeah, he should hear this too, if he’s up. Kid probably passed out after dinner and is now being tied down and drawn on by his cluster of sisters.”

 

_“He’d managed to make it out for you. Call him. We’ll go do something and we can talk_.”

 

“Okay,” Skip nodded. “I love you.”

 

_“Love you too, Skip_ ,” she said sweetly. _“Let me know what Alex says.”_

 

“Mm hmm, talk to you soon.”

 

_“Bye.”_

 

“Bye.”

 

As Skip called Penkala he realized if he was thankful for anything today, it was the fact that he had such amazing friends to help him through rough spots like today.

 

* * *

 

 

There was a voice that rang through Lewis’s brain as he walked down the long, dark, and empty road as his suitcase trailed behind him sounded familiar. The voice called him an idiot, told him to go back home and apologize to his father before it was too late, told him that it was dangerous to be walking alone at night in the middle of nowhere, even if it was a more upper-class middle of nowhere. The voice sounded like Dick, which only made sense to him in about a hundred different ways. Dick was the calm and patient voice of reason he had always lacked; it was probably one of the reasons Lewis fell completely head over heels for the guys instantly.

 

He had never regretted the fact that he had fled his parents’ house by car until this very moment, when he was forced this time to flea by foot. Sure, he could have taken the keys to one of his father’s many nice sports cars but he figured that would be pushing it little bit and it would likely piss off his mother as well as his father; he wouldn’t put it passed his father to report his car as stolen and then have his own son arrested, especially after that fiasco called Thanksgiving dinner.

 

It had started off easy enough. Nixon and his father did not speak directly to each other and simply talked over one another while his mother attempted to play referee; it was a game that they had played long enough that everyone knew their role. However, things turned south when Stanhope had addressed Nixon directly.

 

_“So, Lewis.”_

_“So, Stan,” Nixon responded without looking up from his meal._

_“I’ve talked to my friend, Mr. Carter, you know, he’s on the Yale school board-”_

_“Yes I know that, Stan,” Nixon bit out as he stabbed his fork into his baked potato. “You’ve only mentioned how your friend works for Yale for, I don’t know, my entire life?”_

_“_ Attitude _. Watch yours,” Stanhope hissed as he leveled a hard look at his only child._

_“Pretty sure my attitude is hereditary so that’s on you, Stan.”_

_“Lewis,” his mother said firmly which forced Lewis to shut his mouth._

_“As I was saying, I was talking to Mr. Carter, and after some discussion-”_

More like a bottle or two of whiskey and a healthy donation to the school _, Lewis thought with a roll of his eyes._

_“-he’s come to the agreement that he would let you transfer back to Yale.”_

_“What?” Lewis exclaimed as he squinted at his father in disbelief._

_“What?” his mother exclaimed a second after Lewis, looking confused and worried._

_“You might find it hard to transfer for next semester at this point, what with most classes being full, but I think we would be able to squeeze you in somewhere-”_

_“I am not going,” Nixon said as he sat back in his seat and glared at his father._

_“And I promised Mr. Carter that you would make a full apology in front of the school board,” Stanhope continued over his son. “So I’ve been prepping your speech and we should take a look at that after dinner so-”_

_“Dad,” Lewis yelled as he violently got up from his seat, knocking his glass of wine over in the process but no one made an effort to pick it up. “I am not going to do that! I am not going to apologize for something that I’m not fucking sorry about and I’m definitely not going to grovel just so that I can return to that shit storm of a school when I have my own fucking school that I actually want to be at! I won’t do it. You can’t force me.”_

_“I don’t believe I understand,” Stanhope said in a deadly calm as he folded his hands on top of the table and stared at his son with cold, dark eyes. “You live under this house,_ my _house, and use_ my _hard earned money so you will do as I tell you to do. Or you can get the hell out of here.”_

_“Stan,” Mrs. Nixon spoke up. “You can’t be serious.”_

_“I am, Sarah,” Stanhope answered. “I’ve come to the realization that-”_

_“That you are quite possibly the biggest asshole in the history of fathers?” Nixon cut in as he continued to glare at his dad, already bracing himself to escape the room._

_A sneer of a smile pulled at Stanhope’s face at the comment but it didn’t deter him much._

_“Cute,” he sneered. “But I’ve come to the realization that if you want to waste your life, throw away every good thing I’ve given you-”_

_“Everything that you’ve forced upon me!”_

_“-then you can do it on your own damn dime!” his father roared as he stood up and leaned over the table so that he was closer to his son._

_“Stanhope!” Sarah cried as she sprung to her feet as well. “Lewis. Both of you. Sit down and we’ll discuss this like grownups-”_

_“I’m afraid I don’t see a grown up,” Stanhope declared as he stared down his son. “All I see is a brat.”_

_“Funny,” Nixon said with a smirk. “That all I see as well, Stan.”_

_“You little shit,” Stanhope growled. “You insignificant speck. You waste of potential.”_

_“Stanhope!” Sarah growled._

_“You are done sucking up my money and my resources while you continue to disrespect me and everything I believe in and turning your pompous nose up at everything I have given you. There will be no more of it.”_

_“No more of your constant meddling and bitching and moaning, where do I sign up?”_

_“Of course, jokes, that’s the only thing you seem to understand,” he huffed. “Let’s see how you like this joke: that fancy phone of yours? Well you can pay the bill now. That car that I so happily bought for you after you totaled two other cars? You can pay for the insurance as well along with the gas. That fucking hippie college that will get you nowhere in life? You can pay for that too, have fun with the loans and the debt. You are cut off. You are out of the will. Your inheritance is done. No more allowances. You are not welcome back here. Do you understand?”_

_There was a long, tense moment where Nixon stared into almost exact copies of his own eyes from across the table. His ears were full of the sound of his blood as it pumped through the body and he had tunnel vision that made it possible to focus on his father; he couldn’t see how upset his mother looked, how angry she was, couldn’t hear the words she was saying._

_“Like I said. Where do I sign?”_

 

Now because of their most recent and apparently detrimental blow out to date, Lewis was alone on a deserted road while he towed his suitcase behind him with his laptop bag on his shoulder. He could have called a taxi but that wouldn’t have fit into his flair for dramatic exits and he couldn’t really call one and tell them to pick him up on the side of the road. He’d call a taxi whenever he got to some feasible landmark and then… what?

 

Buy a plane ticket? Go back to PCU. Figure out what he was going to do now that he was essentially homeless and would be broke. He had savings bonds in the bank but in his parent’s safety deposit box, which meant that he’d have to talk to Stan to get ahold of the money. Plan tickets were expensive, something he hadn’t really thought about when there was a seemingly limitless amount of cash attached to his little plastic card with his name on it. Everything had a price tag, including his freedom and happiness.

 

Sighing, Nixon dropped his suitcase and sat down on top of it. He rubbed his face with his hands before he ran his fingers through his hair and stared out at the dark, empty road. A tired smile pulled at his lips. While he felt momentarily panicked about the idea of essentially starting completely over in life, he knew he didn’t regret it. He finally had what he wanted: his freedom. He didn’t have to check in with parents, make appearances for his father, do anything or go anywhere or anything because his father needed his little clone to improve his own image. He didn’t have to dread the holidays because it meant another family reunion and another family blow out.

 

_Time to get your shit together_ , he told himself as he released his hair from his fingers and let his hands fall into his lap. _No more fucking around. He’s gotta see that you don’t need him._

Feeling determined, Lewis pulled out his cell phone and checked his bank account. He had a little less than three-thousand dollars. He would have to work with that right now. It was enough to buy a plane ticket; he probably wouldn’t be able to fly first class but hey, he could deal with that. He was sure the airports would be flooded because of the holidays but hopefully he could get a decent flight.

 

Nixon knew he had to get moving, get started on his new life, for real this time, no safety net or plan B. He would succeed or die trying, because no way in hell would he ever crawl back to Stan and his fucked up ways. However, before he could do any of that, he had to do one thing.

 

Nixon flicked through his phone for a second before he brought it to his ear and listened to the ring on the other side of the line. For a moment, he thought that he might not pick up but on what must have been the last ring, he answered.

 

“ _Hello?”_

 

“Hey, Dick,” Lewis said with a grin; just the sound of the man’s voice made him happier than his family ever made him. “Um, I’m not interrupting or anything?

 

_“No of course not,”_ Dick said softly. “ _Is everything okay?”_

 

“Well, it all depends on how you look at it really,” Nixon shrugged with a wide smile.

 

_“Lew, do you think you could maybe elaborate that for me?”_

 

“For you? Anything.”

 

* * *

 

 

“What do you mean he ran away?” Babe asked as he leaned against the side of his house; the inside of his house was currently a disaster area filled with too many relatives and too much alcohol.

_“I mean he just got up and took my car and left,”_ Gene informed him tiredly from the other side of the telephone _. “Threw a goddamn hissy fit because I was trying to help him and now I have no idea where he’s at. Not picking up his cell phone, although I really didn’t expect him to…”_

 

“He took your car?” Babe couldn’t help but ask with a small chuckle.

 

_“This ain’t funny, Heffron,”_ Gene snapped.

 

“I know, I’m sorry,” Babe quickly apologized. “So are you trapped at your grandma’s house?”

 

_“No, she doesn’t drive anymore but she still has her old car so I’m driving it right now to see if I can find him. Maybe he’s at the clinic or something, could be anywhere really. Could be in another state by now.”_

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. Hardheaded guy like Shelton, he’ll be fine.”

 

_“I know but it would really just make me feel better if I knew where the fuck he was,”_ Gene snapped before he sighed heavily into the phone. _“I’m sorry I’m bringing this all down on you. This ain’t your fault or your business, I just needed to talk to someone_.”

 

“Well I’m happy to help,” Babe said with a smile. “Do you need me to talk to you for a while longer or are you good?”

 

_“Well, as much as I’d like to talk to you, Babe, it’s illegal for me to be talking on the phone while driving.”_

 

“Always so consciences of the rules,” Babe mumbled.

 

_“I’ll let you know if I hear anything,”_ Gene said.

 

“Or if you really need to talk to me again,” Babe offered.

 

_“Yeah, or that.”_

 

“Hey, do you think I should tell anyone?” Babe asked after a slight thought.

_“Like who?”_

 

“I dunno. Sledge is a pretty good friend of his. Maybe he’d answer the phone for Sledge,” Babe said with a shrug. “Just an idea.”

_“Ya know what, go for it,_ ” Gene sighed. _“I’m willing to take any help I can get at the point… thanks for listening, Babe.”_

 

“Anytime, Gene,” Babe grinned as he stared at his snow covered shoes.

 

“ _Talk to you later.”_

 

“Bye.”

 

Babe stared down at his phone and knew there was a dopey smile on his face but he didn’t dare fight it. He hadn’t told anyone yet, but he and Gene had gotten much closer as of late and talking to him always gave him this giddy feeling, no matter the situation.

 

“Why the hell are you looking so stupid?” Bill’s voice called out from the porch. “And why are you standing out in the cold without a jacket on, ya dumbass?”

 

“That was the Doc,” Babe said as he did his best to wipe the giddy expression from his face. “Apparently Shelton ran away on his watch and he doesn’t know where the fuck he is.”

 

“No shit?” Bill asked as he walked down the back steps and stopped next to Babe

 

“Yeah.”

 

“That dudes fuckin’ nuts.”

 

“Yeah. But it’s not like we’re all so much saner than him.”

 

“Speak for your fucking self, Babe,” Bill said before he slapped the back of his head. “Now come on. Nothin’ you can do. Let’s get inside and see if we can hustle any more money.”

 

“You got it, Bill,” Babe said with a nod. “I just have to make a quick phone call and then I promise I’ll be back inside.”

 

“Okay, but if you catch a cold from being out here it’s your own damn fault.”

 

“I’m a big kid, Bill, I can take care of myself.”

 

“Ha! That’s the funniest damn thing you’ve said all night!”

 

Babe watched as Bill disappeared back inside before he pulled out his phone again and dialed Eugene’s number. He picked up on the third ring.

 

_“Babe? What’s up?”_

 

“Uh, I got some news and I don’t really know if you’re gonna like it or not…”

 

* * *

 

 

Snafu hadn’t planned on it, but after he had roamed around the back roads for a while, he had found the freeway, and then somehow he had ended up back in good old New Orleans. The route from where Gene lived to here seemed to be so ingrained in his brain he couldn’t avoid it. As he drove around some of the side streets, he contemplated turning around and heading back for the freeway, maybe drive somewhere different until the gas ran out, but instead, he went somewhere he hadn’t gone in almost a year.

 

When the headlights shined on the old house, it looked just as dilapidated and uncared for as it had when he had left it. The front lawn was overgrown and the old lawnmower was rusted and apparently broken as it sat propped against the rickety porch. His father’s rusted out van was parked in the driveway but the deflated tires proved it had been some time since he last drove the car.

 

_What are you doing here?_ Snafu asked himself as he stared forward at the empty road ahead of him _. Don’t get out of the car. Just keep driving. Don’t…_

 

Snafu put the car into park and cut the engine before he pocketed the keys and got out of the car. The rusted gate screeched as he opened it and the porch stairs groaned as if they could not support his weight.

 

_This place should be condemned._

 

Snafu reached out and opened the front door with no effort; of course the door wasn’t locked. The screen door creaked but it didn’t seem to alarm anyone or anything. The inside of the house was dark except for the faint flashing of a television coming from the living room. Snafu heard snores and knew his father was probably dead drunk, as he was most Thanksgivings. Snafu passed the living room and decided to walk deeper into the house, passed the filthy kitchen, where it smelled like something had been burnt, and the dining room, which was filled with so much shit he could barely make out the beaten down table and chairs. He continued to walk down the hallway until he found his way into his old bedroom.

 

There was a thin layer of dust on everything and nothing looked like it had been moved since he had left. He opened some of the drawers and found some old clothing he had outgrown long ago and some old broken games and crumpled homework assignments. There was nothing of value here. He sat down on the edge of the old, dusty bed, a cloud of dust floated into the air and itched his eyes but he ignored it. He looked around the empty walls, thought of the dirty kitchen and the overcrowded dining room and the wild forest of a front yard. He remembered how the living room was covered in beer cans and liquor bottles and old take out containers instead of pictures like Gene’s house.

 

There was nothing here. There never would be. His father had never given too shits about him and Snafu knew that he never would; the man would drink himself to death before he ever did something like that. His mother didn’t give a shit about him, at least not enough to take him with her when she ditched them all those years ago. No one who was supposed to be his family actually cared about him. He had nothing.

 

Snafu got up from his bed and walked back down the hallway until he reached the living room. As expected, his father was passed out on the living room couch while the television illuminated the dirty room in a blue light. His father looked more or less the same as did the living room. He had left and nothing had changed. It seemed as if his father had never even acknowledged the fact that his only child had left the house without a word and hadn’t come back in a year.

 

Why did he even come back here?

 

Snafu walked out of the living room and exited the house. He slammed the front door behind him and tried not to notice the paint chips that fell to the old porch. He stared at the knots in the wood of the porch and listened to the sounds of the city around him. He heard cars and occasional voices from his neighbors and he heard the clatter of bottles hitting each other inside his house, which mean that his father must have woken up from the noise he had made. With a huff, Snafu took a step forward and sat down on the edge of the porch.

 

It was Thanksgiving and instead of having a nice meal with his first actual friend and his family, he fucking stirred up shit for no reason and ran away back to this hell hole for no reason. Why he came back here, he didn’t know. It was probably because he didn’t have anywhere else to go. He hadn’t been home or seen his dad’s ugly mug in almost a year but he still decided to come back here.

 

Why? What was wrong with him?

 

There had to be something wrong with him. No sane person just kept returning to the source of their abuse time and time again no matter how many times they’re given the chance to leave forever. He couldn’t leave at thirteen when he was beaten and broken and given the chance to fess up to some nice nurses so why would he leave years later when he was supposed to be stronger and wiser and happier? He was a fuck up and there was no escaping his future as another version of the man who was currently rattling through the kitchen in search of an unemptied bottle.

 

Snafu let out a deep breath and stared down at his shoes, feeing suddenly exhausted. He wondered vaguely what time it was; maybe he could just stay up until the sun came up or maybe he should take the car and take a nap on the side of the road. Snafu fumbled with his phone for a moment before he pulled it out of his pocket and saw that he had thirteen missed calls, seven voice mails, and fifteen text messages. Snafu expected to find them all from the Doc but was surprised to see that most of them had come for Eugene; somehow it must have slipped to Eugene that he had gone on the run.

 

Snafu didn’t feel like reading all the messages right now, they all were probably a couple different variations of ‘where are you’ or ‘call or text me’, same old same old. As Snafu scrolled through Eugene’s texts, he accidently went up too far and landed on one from a few days ago.

 

**If you’re desperate for help over break feel free to call or text me**

 

Snafu stared at the simple text for a long moment and remembered how the other day he had been joking about study habits with the kid during lectures instead of paying attention. It seemed like a month ago. He contemplated it all for a moment before he shook his head and hit the call button. Predictably Eugene picked up on the first ring.

 

_“Snaf?!”_ Eugene cried into the phone, sounding desperate.

 

“Hey, Eugene,” Snafu muttered as he stared out at the dilapidated street.

 

“ _Where the hell did you go man? The Doc’s worried sick about you. We’ve been trying to get a hold of you for hours,”_ Eugene said frantically.

 

“Yeah, I can tell by the way you two blew up my inbox,” Snafu said with a hollow chuckle.

 

_“So are you like… are you okay?_ ” Eugene asked uneasily. “ _I didn’t really get why you ran off but if you want to talk about it I’m here.”_

 

“It was stupid really. I overacted,” he admitted. “The doc was just trying to help and I just threw it back in his face.”

 

_“Why?”_

 

Snafu couldn’t help but laugh at the innocent question.

 

“Well that’s the million dollar question now ain’t it? I’m fucked up. Plain and simple, Sledge, I’m fucked up. It’s even in my name. Snafu: situation normal, all fucked up.”

 

“ _Well… you don’t have to be,”_ he said quietly after a pause.

 

“Easier said than done, Sledge,” Snafu chuckled darkly.

 

_“But Snafu’s not even your actual name,”_ Eugene protested _. “Snafu’s someone fucking character that got created. So Snafu’s not who you actually are. Who cares if that name means you’re fucked up? You don’t have to be that guy.”_

 

“Like I said, easier said than done, Sledge,” Snafu muttered into the phone as he felt anger surge inside of him once again. “I said that’s what would happen when I went to school but that shit just didn’t pan out. I can’t be that guy. I can’t be that guy who isn’t some fucking urban legend or that guy who lives in a fucking house like a normal person or who goes by their fucking name for fucks sake. I can’t. I’m just fucked up like that I guess.”

_“Well what if I helped you?”_ Eugene offered.

 

“How could you help me when it’s me being fucked up that’s the problem?”

 

_“Maybe if you heard someone besides Doc Roe calling you your actual name than maybe you’d use it yourself,”_ Eugene suggested _. “I could do that too. I could call you Shelton or even Merriell if you’d let me.”_

 

Snafu frowned at the ground at Eugene’s words. It wasn’t because he was angry or annoyed by it but hearing his name come out of Eugene felt weird, good even; it confused him.

 

“ _Is that okay?”_ Eugene asked. “ _Maybe not Merriell. But Shelton? I already call you that sometimes. Is that okay?”_

 

Snafu shifted uncomfortably on the stairs. He wished that Eugene was at his side and not two states away; he knew that he wasn’t the best verbal communicator out there, hell he really wasn’t good at any kind of communication. However, he was sure if Eugene were at his side he would be able to see that Snafu was struggling for the right words to say and not pissed with Eugene like the guy thought.

 

_“Listen, you know, we don’t have to do this,”_ Eugene said. _“I’m just trying to help, Snaf, but how about we talk about this another time? Call the Doc back and let him know you’re alright; he’s worried sick about-”_

 

“Merriell,” Snafu mumbled, cutting Eugene off.

 

_“Huh?”_

 

“You can… you can call me Merriell, if you wanted,” Snafu muttered as he felt his face flush. “Like you don’t have to. But if you were to say it… I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t be pissed at you for it.”

_“Really?”_ Eugene asked in a tone of surprise.

 

“Calm down, it’s not that exciting,” Snafu grunted. “It doesn’t even matter.”

_“Yes it does,_ ” Eugene said.

 

“Whatever.”

_“Do you want to talk about what happened with the Doc?_ ”

 

“No. I think I’m good,” Snafu admitted. “I think I’ll get headed back to him and see if he’ll take my sorry ass back. Maybe we can try and have that conversation again without me flying off the fucking handle.”

 

_“That sounds good_ ,” Eugene said _. “But call him or text him first? Let him know you’re okay.”_

 

“Geez, what are you, my mom?”

 

_“Someone’s gotta make sure you do your homework and eat your vegetables and check in when you’re supposed to,”_ he teased.

 

“Fucking dork.”

 

_“Yeah but you still talk to me.”_

 

“We’ll see about that,” Snafu said with a grin.

 

_“Uh huh, sure.”_

 

Snafu continued to sit on his old porch for several moments with his phone pressed to his ear without saying a word while he listened to the crackling noise of Eugene’s breath in the phone. Once again he wished Eugene was here with him but he’d get over it. They’d both be back at school soon enough. Finally, after almost a full minute of comfortable silence, Snafu spoke up.

 

“Sorry it’s late and I probably kept you up worrying about me,” Snafu apologized. “I should go now. Go let Doc know I’m okay. Let him kick my ass around some.”

 

_“Make sure he saves some room for me to kick when we get back to school.”_

 

“Very funny,” Snafu sighed. “Night, Eugene.”

 

_“Goodnight, Merriell.”_

 

* * *

 

 

David was in the middle of reorganizing his book collection, he had decided to organize it by genre this time, when he heard the sound of the stairwell door being opened. He paused for a moment before he returned to his task; it was probably just the housekeeping staff or something. However, when one of the dorm room doors near his opened with a clatter, he got up to investigate. As he stuck his head out of his dorm room and into the hallway, he saw that the door to room 510 was wide open. Webster took a few steps into the hallway until he could see into the room and found Joe Liebgott angrily throwing his clothes from his suitcase back into his dresser.

 

“Joe?” Webster asked which caused Joe to jump slightly.

 

“Jesus Christ, Web, don’t fucking sneak up on a guy like that,” Joe snapped as he turned around and leaned against his dresser. There was a pause of silence and then Joe gave him a questioning look. “Aren’t you supposed to be in New York or some shit?”

 

Webster felt his mouth drop open while he struggled to think of some excuse or explanation. His face felt hot and his heart beat increased but he fought to keep himself under control.

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be in San Francisco with your family, Joe?” Webster countered.

 

“Frisco’s a bit closer to here than New York, Web,” Joe said. “Not really a big hassle for me to be back early but you, you have a little explaining to do.”

 

Webster stared around at the mess of clothes and belongings of the floor and remembered the angry clatter of his dorm room door opening. He leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest before he said, “I think you have a little explaining to do as well.”

 

“How about we do it over some grub? I’m starving,” Liebgott offered as he dropped a t-shirt onto the ground.

 

Webster froze. He had been mostly avoided Joe ever since that one day at the food hall where Joe had told him that he liked him, whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. On one hand, Webster knew that if he were to go to lunch with Liebgott, there would be almost a one-hundred percent chance of it ending in a fight, but on the other hand he knew that Joe wouldn’t drop this, he would keep asking him why he was at school when he had said he was going to be back home. He thought back to Annie and her call and how it caused all sorts of memories to flood back into his brain and he realized that he really could use someone to talk to, even if it was Joe Liebgott.

 

“Sure, I’d love to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know when the next chapter will be up and I'm not going to promise shit so I don't feel as bad when I take a month to update :P Thanks for sticking with me though


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finals freakout time

* * *

“You know this isn’t what I meant when I said that we should study together,” Kitty sighed as Harry kissed her neck.

 

“Because you seem to be trying so hard to fight me off,” Harry mumbled against his girlfriend’s neck with a wide grin on his face.

 

“But seriously, we need to get to work,” Kitty insisted as she gave Harry a slight shove.

 

“Oh I’m getting to work alright.”

 

“ _Harry.”_

 

Harry leaned back so that he could look at his girlfriend and was about to protest when the door burst open, causing the two on the bed to jump slightly.

 

“Speirs, fucking seriously?” Harry asked in exasperation when he saw Ron standing in the doorway, having just nearly kicked down the door. “First of all, can you open the door like a normal person and two, did you not fucking see the sock on the doorknob? _Terrible_ etiquette.”

 

“This isn’t even your room,” Speirs said deadpan as he stared down at Harry.

 

“You put a sock on the doorknob?” Kitty asked Harry in exasperation.

 

“Nix and Dick are in our room ‘studying’ so he told me we could use his room,” Harry explained. “Blame Nix.”

 

“Use it for what?” Ron asked with narrowed eyes.

 

“To study!” Harry exclaimed.

 

“That’s not what you were planning about a minute ago,” Kitty said with a smirk.

 

“Why are you throwing me under the bus?” Harry cried.

 

“Why’d you put a sock on the doorknob?”

 

“Can’t blame a guy for being optimistic can you?” Harry said with a shrug. “But did you really have to burst down the door like that?”

 

“It seemed necessary,” Ron answered with a shrug.

 

“Necessary my ass, you just love to be a cock-block,” Harry grumbled.

 

“You know me so well,” Ron said as he walked into the room; it was then that Harry noticed Lipton trailing behind him.

 

“Hey, Lip,” Harry sighed. “What are you two up to?”

 

“Studying,” Lipton answered politely.

 

“Which is what we should be doing,” Kitty said as she turned and gave her boyfriend at firm stare. “Finals are only in a couple of days and I know you haven’t finished a single study guide.”

 

“This isn’t high school, Kitty, it’s not mandatory to do the study guides,” Harry huffed.

 

“Yes well it’s the best way for me to track your process so you’re going to do them,” Kitty said firmly. “I’ll have you know that I will not be dating a college drop out.”

 

“Fine,” Harry grumbled.

 

“And let’s go to the library because we are not getting any sort of studying done here,” Kitty sighed as she got up from the bed and grabbed her backpack that had yet to have its books and notes unloaded. “Clearly.”

 

“Well then we will just take over the room if you’re leaving,” Ron said pleasantly as Harry got up from his bed.

 

“I thought you said we were going to be going to the library, Ron,” Lipton commented as Ron dropped his book bag onto the floor and began to kick off his tennis shoes.

 

Ron turned around to face Lipton and smiled warmly.

 

“I really don’t like studying at the library and it’s going to be crowded,” Speirs admitted quietly as he continued to smile at the younger man. “Besides, wouldn’t you rather study here? Probably gonna be more peaceful in the dorms to be honest. More comfortable.”

 

“Come on, Kitty,” Harry grumbled as he pulled on his jacket and book bag. “Let’s get this over with.”

 

Kitty nodded before she said goodbye to the other two men and left the room. Once Harry and Kitty where walking down the stairs, she spoke up.

 

“So, Ron and Lipton,” Kitty started. “They’re _… friends_?”

 

“Yeah I guess,” Harry answered with a shrug. “Kinda weird to imagine Speirs friends with someone, not a very rare occurrence, but I guess sweet old Lip is one of the chosen few.”

 

“…Are you sure they’re _just_ friends?” Kitty asked after a pause which caused Harry to stop in his tracks.

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“Oh come on, Harry, you can’t be that blind!” Kitty cried as she put her hands on her hips.

 

“Clearly I am because I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Harry said with a shake of his head. “You’re gonna have to spell it out for me.”

 

“To be honest I get the feeling that there are more than just friendly, bro feelings going on between those two guys,” Kitty explained with a small smile on her face.

 

“Why do you think so?”

 

“Did you even see the way Ron was looking at Lipton up there?” Kitty asked slowly with exasperation creeping into her voice. “I mean I’ve noticed that when that guy actually likes you and is friends with you, he will drop his mister scary icy face but that, that face up there was straight up puppy love expression.”

 

“You’re crazy,” Harry said with a shake of his head before he started walking again.

 

“Why am I crazy?”

 

“Because… because it’s Speirs,” Harry stuttered.

 

“And Ron isn’t a human being with a wide range of emotions who could ever possibly have romantic feelings for someone, right,” Kitty said sarcastically as she pushed open the exit door and walked outside into the chilly air. “You should really pay more attention. You’d notice a lot more things that go on in this place.”

 

Harry watched Kitty walk away for a moment while he tried to digest what she had just said. It was weird, to imagine someone as rough and scary and intimidating as Speirs being with someone, especially someone who was as quiet and level headed and seemingly innocent as Lipton.

 

“Are you coming or what?” Kitty called, already twenty feet away from Harry, who still stood in the doorway. “You can fail you finals but I’m gonna go study!”

 

“Coming,” Harry called as he rushed after Kitty.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Web! Just the guy I’ve been looking for!”

 

David looked up from his textbook and found Joe Liebgott as he strolled towards him; several students glared at him for his intrusion in the silent library but he either didn’t notice or care as he sat down across from Webster at a table.

 

“Uh, hey, Joe,” David muttered as he returned to his textbook. “What’s up?”

 

“Done with lecture today, figured I’d grab some grub, wondered if you’d wanna get some with me,” Joe said as he sat down across from him with a grin on his face.

 

“Uh, I’d like to, Joe, but I’ve got to finish reading these thirty pages and then I have to work on these response questions and then -”

 

“And then you’re going to collapse from exhaustion and starvation,” Joe said simply with a roll of his eyes. “Come on. I know you’ve barely left this library in the past couple of days. You need food, food that’s not bagels or muffins from the café.”

 

“But-!” Webster started as Liebgott began to gather up his things and shove them pell-mell into his book bag. “Wait! Christ, Lieb, I can do it!”

 

“Would have taken you too long,” Liebgott said simply as he handed over the stuff book bag over to the other man. “I’m starving, let’s get a move on.”

 

It was clear that Webster would not get out of this easily, so he sighed, shrugged on his coat, and grabbed his book bag from Liebgott before they exited the library together.

 

“I can’t stay out long,” Webster informed Liebgott. “I really do have a lot of things still to do and if I’m out for over an hour I’ll be behind for the day and-”

 

“Web, there’s no point in studying your ass off when you die of starvation,” Liebgott said in exasperation. “Besides, twenty bucks says you ace all the fuckin exams no problem.”

 

“No, I have Calc and I know my lit professor is just going to do something crazy for the essay questions on the exam and-”

 

“And like I said, you’re going to be just fine, college boy,” Joe repeated tiredly. “You’re gonna have to eat eventually and the library’s twenty-four hours; not like it’s going anywhere.”

 

Webster let out a huff but didn’t say anything else as the two walked across campus towards one of the food halls. They didn’t talk on the way there or even after they had seated themselves at a table and began to dig into food but it didn’t feel uncomfortable. It was sort of weird, mostly because Webster remembered a time when they couldn’t even be within ten feet of each other without fighting. But something had changed recently, when Joe came back to the dorm early after Thanksgiving break. He hadn’t expected it, when he agreed to grab some food with Joe, but somewhere into the meal they finally brought up the fact that they were both back much earlier than anyone expected them to be.

 

Joe had gone first. It hadn’t been anything colossal, really it was just his family had pissed him off somehow and because he lived so close to the school, he had simply returned instead of staying with them for the rest of the weekend. Joe later informed him that he had talked to his parents and smoothed things over with them, but they had still been annoyed with his sudden and unexpected departure.

 

Webster had been a little less willing to give the details of why he was at Pacific instead of back home in New York, but eventually Liebgott had wiggled the information out of him. He hadn’t gone into full detail but he had told Liebgott how his parents had found out about him being gay and because of this, he was no longer a welcomed member of their family. He hadn’t told Joe how his father had gone into an uproar and started to throw things while his mother cried and refused to listen to him when he had tried to explain to her. Didn’t tell Liebgott how his father declared that there wouldn’t be any faggots under his roof and his little sister had been so devastated by his sudden expulsion that the memory of it still broke his heart. He hadn’t said how his brother had ratted him out and agreed with their father when he said he wanted David out of the house. He hadn’t gotten to the fact that David had secretly transferred from Harvard to PCU without his parents noticing and that that helped add fuel to the flames or the fact that his sister had called him on Thanksgiving and caused her to cry. He hadn’t gone into how he was now cut off from his family and would be signing up for every bit of financial aid next year to pay for school.

 

But it was nice to get something off of his chest, even if it was to someone like Joe Liebgott.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Finals had hit Pacific Coast Academy hard in early December, made worse by the fact that everyone just wanted to enjoy a month long break from studying and classes but where now forced to study harder than ever before. Like during midterms, a handful of students began to crack under pressure, but George Luz, who was currently filled to the brim with holiday spirit, took it upon himself to check on the wearier students and give them candy canes or holiday themed cookies or small little thing that would bring their spirits up while he sang Christmas carols throughout the halls in his slightly off-key tone.

 

“I need a smoke,” Skip declared as he hit his head against the wall of Malarkey’s dorm room. “I can’t do this anymore.”

 

Malarkey smiled before he dug into his pocket and tossed a small rectangular package at his friend’s face. Skip stared at the package in surprise before he turned to look at Malarkey with wide eyes.

 

“Where the hell did you get those?” Skip asked as he pulled a lighter out of his pants pocket. “You can’t get these anywhere.”

 

“Lucky Strikes means fine tobacco,” Malarkey said with a grin. “Gotta thank Jolly Old Saint Luz.”

 

“God bless the man,” Skip said as he lit a cigarette before he passed the packet to Penkala.

 

“I don’t even want to know what he had to do to get these,” Penkala mumbled around his cigarette as Malarkey got up to open the window; it was barely fifty degrees outside but at least this way they didn’t end up setting of the fire alarm or cause the room to smell too much like smoke.

 

“Guy’s a saint,” Malarkey said as he lit his own cigarette.

 

“Well during midterms Lipton tried to take care of everyone and he ended up getting the flu, working himself to death,” Skip said with a shrug. “Guess Luz is taking a swing at it this time around.”

 

“Well if he’s handing out Lucky Strikes then he can belt out the wrong words to Christmas carols in his tone-deaf way any day,” Penkala declared as he breathed out a stream of smoke.

 

“Amen to that.”

 

While everyone in Hanks House seemed to welcome the jolly addition of Luz’s holiday spirit, many were less than grateful for the addition that Ray Person brought to the dorm. Ray decided to follow after his friend in spreading holiday spirit, but he did in in a much more disruptive, anti-finals, general Ray Person style obnoxiousness that lead him to gain the nickname of Santa’s most obnoxious elf. It was a apparently a title he took seriously when he donned an elf hat and began running through the dorms, screaming Avril Lavigne songs. The only thing that made the scene more entertaining was when Brad Colbert could be seen running after him in the halls.

 

It was just another quirk of Hanks House that the residents quickly accepted and attempted to ignore.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Babe tried to focus on the words and numbers he had written down in his algebra notebook but they were nothing more than scribbles to him. He couldn’t focus and it wasn’t just because his brain was fried to a crisp from all of the studying he had done in the past few days; it was because of who sat next to him on the floor of his dorm room.

 

“Babe, you been staring at that same spot for the last ten minutes,” Doc Roe spoke up. “You’re not even trying to look like you’re studying.”

 

“Well you can’t be studying very much if you’ve spent the last ten minutes watching me not study,” Babe countered.

 

“Unlike you I finished all the studying I had planned to do right now, so I’m free to do whatever I want,” Gene said with a smirk.

 

“You’re finished studying? Is that even possible for a premed major? Aren’t you guys always studying?” Babe asked incredulously. “Like I can’t remember the last time I saw Spina without his face jammed into a book or notes.”

 

“Well, I’ve done all I can do by myself right now,” Gene explained. “I’m gonna meet up with my study group later and then we’re gonna compare notes and things like that. Besides, it’s good to give your brain a rest every now and again.”

 

“You didn’t have to study with me, Gene,” Babe mumbled as he stared at his notes. “You could have just studied with your group and gotten more work done. Don’t want to hold you back.”

 

“But I want to study with you, Babe,” Gene said with a smile.

 

“Really?” Babe huffed while he tried to hide the blush that began to creep onto his face. “Don’t know why you’d rather study with me when you could be studying with someone like Renee Lemarie.”

 

Before Babe could take back what he said, Gene was turning towards him with a confused expression on his face. Babe was sure his heart had skipped a beat or two when Gene placed his hand on Babe’s leg.

 

“Why do you keep thinking I like Renee like that?” Gene asked softly. “I told you, we’re just friends. She’s like a sister to me.”

 

“But, um, bet she’s a better sight to look at while cramming,” Babe stuttered as he tried to look anywhere that wasn’t Doc Roe’s face. “She’s more helpful than me too. Actually know what the hell all that medical terminology is…”

 

“Babe, I didn’t agree to come here because I thought you’d be some great asset to my studying,” Gene admitted slowly.

 

“Well then why the hell did you come here, Gene?”

 

When Babe turned to look at Gene, found that the other man had moved much closer than before. He didn’t dare move or speak because he feared it would break whatever spell had brought Gene Roe this close to him. The guy was so close to him, Babe was sure he could count the number of eyelashes he had, could feel his breath on his own lips…

 

 _“WHY’D YOU HAVE TO GO AND MAKE THINGS SO COMPLICATED?!”_ Ray Person screamed at the top of his lungs as he ran down the hallway at stop speed. “ _I SEE THE WAY YOU’RE ACTIN’ LIKE YOU’RE SOMEBODY ELSE, GETS ME FRUSTRATED!”_

 

Gene jumped back from Babe as Babe turned and quickly checked that yes, the door was firmly shut. A second later, Babe heard the distinct pounding of heavier feet as the followed after Ray; he was sure it was Colbert. He turned his head slightly and glanced at Gene out of the corner of his eyes. Gene had moved back to his previous spot and was now putting his things away and putting them in his backpack.

 

“Better get going,” Roe said quietly. “Study group and all…”

 

“Yeah, yeah, um, good luck with that,” Babe said as he cleared his throat roughly. “Good luck on your finals.”

 

“Same to you, Babe,” Gene said before he stood up, picked up his backpack, and left the dorm room.

 

Babe let out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair while he tried to stop the pounding of his heart. It was clear to him, no matter how many times he had been called oblivious by Bill and Spina and Julian that Gene was at least somewhat interested in him; the degree of his interest was uncertain but at least there was something. Babe realized he should be ecstatic about this but he knew that if he and the Doc started something serious, it would be next to impossible to keep his secret from everyone else at the school. Sure, he had told Bill and he hadn’t had a problem with it, but Babe still feared backlash from others.

 

 _You’re pathetic_.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey, Stella,” Leckie said as he knocked on her open door. He smiled at her when she looked up at him; text books and note cards covered the space on her bed in front of her. “How’s the studying going?”

 

“Fine,” she answered as she sat up straighter and shifted a few things aside so that Leckie could sit down on the bed.

 

Leckie watched her for a moment, took in her less than happy expression, the tenseness of her shoulder, and the slightly cold presence she gave off. He shrugged it off though; finals did that to a person.

 

“At least when finals are over you’ll be able to go home and relax for a month,” Leckie tried with a grin. “Good to get a break. Time to breathe, rest your brain…”

 

Stella continued with the silence as she focused on the notes; it made the smile slip off of Leckie’s face. Stella was never stressed or quiet or upset. Even during midterms Leckie remember Stella laughing and grabbing lunch with him and fooling around loudly when everyone had taken refuge in the library. Something was wrong.

 

“Stella?” Leckie asked as he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.

 

Finally she looked up at him with tears in her eyes and bit her lip. Leckie felt his stomach sink and retracted his hand from her shoulder.

 

“Stella, what’s the matter?”

 

“I… Bob,” she started off softly in a tone one might use around a wounded animal. “When I came to school here, I never planned on finding someone like you…”

 

“Yeah well that’s the best thing about surprises; you don’t expect them or plan for them to happen,” Leckie said.

 

There was a long pause again before Stella let out a deep breath and turned away from Leckie, tears shining brightly in her dark brown eyes.

 

“Bob, I want to break up.”

 

“What?” he exclaimed softly as he jumped back slightly as if he had received an electric shock.

 

“I didn’t come here looking for a relationship,” she explained.

 

“Well just because you didn’t plan on looking for something means you should dump it on the side of the road when you find it?” Leckie asked as he broke out of his shock.

  
“I don’t want to be tied down,” she continued with sadness in her voice. “We’ve been moving too fast! We’ve only been seeing each other for a couple months and you’ve already met my family-!”

 

“You were the one who invited me to your parents!” Leckie yelled as he stood up.

 

“I know and it was a mistake! I didn’t realize how serious it would make things!” Stella cried. “Now mom’s calling asking if you’re coming home for Christmas and if she should get you something and for a few days I was worried I was pregnant-”

 

“Are you pregnant?” Leckie asked in a suddenly deadly serious and quiet tone.

 

“No, no,” Stella said quickly. “I was worried I was but I’m sure I’m not now…”

 

“Oh... good.”

 

“I’m sorry, Bob, I’m really so sorry. But I can’t. I can’t be seriously with you, not like this. I’m only _nineteen_. My parents act like you’re my fiancé or something. I was worried I’d be pregnant with your baby and then be married and a mother at twenty and, and I’m sorry. I am so incredibly sorry, but I can’t.”

 

“Oh you’re sorry?” Leckie asked angrily. “Well you can take your fake apology and forget about it. Forget about me-”

 

“Bob-”

 

“Don’t talk to me anymore.”

 

“You’re being unreasonable!”

 

“You’re the one who’s breaking up with me for no real reason! I think I have some room to be unreasonable!” Leckie yelled.

 

“Can’t we still be friends?” Stella tried as she got off of her bed, arms crossed over her chest while tears streamed quietly down her cheeks.

 

“No. No we can’t,” Bob said quietly before he reached out and gripped the door handle and opened the door. “Goodbye Stella.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

It was a common occurrence for Dick to have his dorm room door open while he sat at his desk studying and have a man who was not his roommate burst in the room unannounced and then flop onto his bed before he buried his dark-haired head into his pillows. While Dick listened to his boyfriend grumbled and curse as he curled up on his bed, a soft smile pulled at his face and he had to fight the wish to join Nixon so that he finished whatever work he was doing.

 

“How’s your studying going?” Dick asked in greeting as he focused on finishing an answer for a question on one of many study guides assigned to him.

 

“Super, that’s why I’m collapsed on top of your bed trying to hid from my professors,” Nixon answered, his voice muffled by the pillows and blankets. “ _Ugh_ , this fucking sucks.”

 

“Finals aren’t that bad, Lew,” Dick said gently as he finished up the question and closed his laptop softly. “You’re a smart guy. You’ll do fine.”

 

“It’s not just that,” Nixon admitted as he pushed himself up so that he was on his elbows. He continued to stare forward at the head board with tired eyes. “I just had to sign up for fucking financial aid.”

 

“ _Oh_.”

 

“Yeah, fucking ‘oh’,” Nixon grumbled as he rolled over so that he was on his back. “It’s bullshit.”

 

“Well, most kids now are on financial aid, happens to a lot of people and they somehow make it work,” Dick tried to explain as he turned his desk chair to face Nixon.

 

“Yeah well, unfortunately for me, they don’t have a ‘my parent’s cut me off’ section, so I’m getting literally next to nothing in financial aid,” he explained. “So not only do I have fucking school loans to worry about, I got to worry about where the fuck I’m gonna live and how I’m gonna afford it. It fucking sucks.”

 

“…do you regret what you did then? To your parents?” Dick asked which caused Nixon to sit up and stared at him dead in the eye.

 

“Not for a second,” he declared. “I’m glad I have my freedom but freedom isn’t actually free. It’s rather fucking costly.”

 

“That’s what I hear,” Dick said with a smile as he got up from his desk and moved to sit next to Nixon. “So do you know what you’re going to do for a living situation?”

 

“Right now as for winter break I was just gonna stay in some shitty motel or something. Try not to get some disease from the bed sheets,” Nix sighed as he scratched at the back of his head. “Then for summer break I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just fucking sleep in my car at the beach. Become a fucking hippie. Probably the only way my dad could hate me even more than he does right now.”

 

“Well, seeing as that disease-infested motel room sounds like such a solid plan, I guess you don’t want to hear my offer,” he said with a shrug.

 

“What offer?” Nixon asked.

 

“Uh, I called my mom last night and after I explained your situation, she was more than happy to offer you to stay in the guest room over break,” Dick explained with a slightly nervous tremor in his voice. “I understand if you don’t want to. That motel room sounds great to me-”

 

“Are you serious?” he asked as he cut Dick off.

 

“Yeah I’m serious,” Dick nodded before he added with a gentle smile, “my parents would also like to meet the guy who I talk about almost every time I call.”

 

“Are they really okay with me staying there?” Nix asked after a pause. “You said they were still iffy on the whole gay thing and I don’t want to push it with your family-”

 

“Lewis,” Dick said firmly as he gripped one of Nixon’s hands in his own. “My mom’s the one who suggested it. Over Thanksgiving my parents apologized for not being completely supportive from the start. I told them that we could start over and they both agreed that you could come stay with us. We have a big house, plenty of room and you won’t get a disease from the bedspread.”

 

“I doubt there’ll be the possibility of me _willingly_ catching anything while in the bedspread at your place, huh?” Nixon asked with a coy little smile which caused Dick to snort.

 

“Yeah, you wish,” Dick laughed. “So, going my way?”

 

“Sure,” Lewis answered before he placed a soft kiss onto Dick’s lips.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Does anyone know have a copy of the notes from Dr. Smith’s Physics 1140 lecture?!” Skinny Sisk yelled as he burst onto the fifth floor. “Fucker took them down the day before the exam!”

 

“My printers out of ink and if I don’t leave this building in five minutes with my term paper in hand I am fucked!” Buck exclaimed loudly from where he sat at his desk.

 

“You can use ours, Buck,” Julian called before he shot-gunned an energy drink.

 

“What the fuck kind of professor tacks on a fifty point extended response question two days before the final?” Joe Toye screamed as he sat in front of his computer with a new email opened in front of him. “Someone’s gonna die! Someone’s gonna fucking die!”

 

“Hey, Jay, Lip, you still good to study?” Andy Haldane asked as he knocked on their door and pocked his head inside.

 

“Good to go, Ack Ack,” Jay said with a nod as he shoved his books into his laptop bag.

 

“Eddie joining us?” Lipton asked as he pulled on his back pack.

 

“He’s already at the library with a table secured,” Ack Ack answered. “Let’s get a move on.”

 

“Has anyone seen Skinny?” Walt yelled as he ran down the fifth floor hallway and peered into rooms as he passed. “He copied my Stats notes an hour ago and disappeared with them. I have my final tomorrow!”

 

“Harry!” Lena called as she stood in the doorway of his and Dick’s dorm room. “Have you seen Kitty? She said we’d go to Professor Larson’s office hours together and she’s not back yet.”

 

“I think her lab might have run over, she should be out soon though…”

 

 _“Person!”_ Brad Colbert’s voice could be heard from two floors below. “ _If I hear you sing one more song in this damn building I will write you up and I will make sure you’re cleaning the bathrooms with your toothbrush.”_

_“Well unfortunately for you, Brad, I don’t have a toothbrush. I’ve been using yours the entire semester.”_

 

As finals inched ever closer, the residence of Hanks House’s stress and anxiety levels shot through the roof. At times, the building was dead quiet with everyone either at the library or class or sleeping or studying for the twelfth hour straight, strung along on a myriad of stimulants. Other times, like right now, it was a mess of activity. People ran about in a desperate search for copies of notes and study guides while people argued for the answers to a question in a dorm room while others just tried to blow off some steam with a quick round of Call of Duty.

 

It was only the idea of a month off of classes that gave the students the will to muddle through their twenty paged study guides and stacks of lecture notes.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Webster turned away from his computer at the sound of the knock on his door. Sighing, he got up from his desk and opened the door to reveal Hoosier, Chuckler, and Runner.

 

“How’s he doing?” Hoosier asked as he glanced over Webster’s shoulder.

 

“I don’t think he’s moved since he got back from his lecture this morning,” Webster answered as he returned to his desk while he motioned to the barley moving bulge in the blankets that was his roommate.

 

“Well at least you got him to his lecture, that’s impressive,” Runner said positively.

 

“It’s not that impressive when the only reasons he got to the lecture was because Bull and Rudy carried him there,” Webster informed them. “I doubt it was even worth it to drag him there. Rudy said he was almost falling out of his seat when they came to pick him up.”

 

“Well, let’s see if we can’t do anything about it,” Hoosier said as he walked forward so that he stood over his friend’s bed.

 

“That chick really messed him up bad,” Chuckler sighed as he stared down at Leckie’s outline. “Do you even know what she said to him or why she broke up with him?”

 

“It’s a little unclear but he came in here yesterday at about four in the afternoon, stinking drunk, yelling about how she didn’t want to be so serious,” Webster answered. “I don’t even know where he got the booze from because his stash is untouched right now.”

 

“There’s a boatload of guys in his dorm alone with enough booze to do this to a guy,” Hoosier commented as he stared down at Leckie. He then reached out and tugged the blankets away from Leckie’s body. “Rise and shine, princess.”

 

Leckie groaned and curled a little tighter in on himself but did not respond much more than that. He looked like a wreck: hair a mess, eyes bloodshot, face grey; he looked ill.

 

“Come on, Leckie,” Chuckler said in a gentler voice than Hoosier. “We’re gonna get you some food and some water and then we are going to help you cram for your exams.”

 

“I don’t think we’re gonna be able to drag him to the food hall,” Hoosier mumbled as he placed a cigarette in between his lips and lit it; Webster quickly forced open the window before the fire alarm was set off before he gave Hoosier an annoyed look. “Thanks for that.”

 

“Hey, Web, ya got any food in here?” Runner asked as he gestured to the refrigerator.

 

“Uh, not sure, take whatever you think’ll help him,” Webster answered. “A lot of the food’s his anyways.”

 

“You guys have got a shit ton of hot pockets,” Runner observed as he searched the inside of the mini fridge.

 

“I don’t think hot pockets are the best thing for him right now,” Hoosier said. “Those fuckers make me wanna puke when I’m sober. Got anything remotely healthy in there?”

 

“Uh… peaches?” Runner asked as he dug out a fruit cup from the back of the fridge.

 

“That’ll do,” Chuckler said before he walked over to where Webster and Leckie kept their plastic utensils. After he passed Hoosier the plastic spoon, he moved behind the slumped over man and propped him up.

 

“Now come on, Leckie,” Hoosier said in a flat tone as he loaded a spoon full of peaches. “Open wide for the airplane.”

 

Webster watched from his desk as three grown men attempted to feed another fully grown man, airplane noises and motions included; it was definitely one of the weirdest things he had seen but after living in Hanks House for so long, he wasn’t that taken aback by the weirdness. When Leckie managed to take in a bite, they cheered and somehow managed to get him to eat the rest of the fruit cup. However, their enthusiasm came crashing down when Leckie tipped over onto his side and threw up.

 

“I’m not cleaning that up,” Webster declared.

 

* * *

 

 

 

“So, Ron,” Lipton began as he continued to stare at his notes.

 

“So, Carwood,” Speirs responded from where he sat across from Lipton at a table at the library.

 

“I was wondering what your plans were for winter break,” Lipton stated in a calm tone.

 

A smile came to Speirs’s face as he watched Lipton flip aimlessly through his notebook in what was clearly an attempt to seem casual. After a long moment of silence, Lipton finally glanced up at Speirs, which only made him smile wider.

 

“What?” Lipton asked.

 

“Nothing, Carwood,” he responded. “As for break, nothing special. Returning back home. Why?”

 

“Didn’t you say your family usually goes on some sort of ski trip or something?”

 

“Ah, that, well, this year we’re not,” Speirs answered with a shrug. “Dad’s busy. He said he’d be home for some of break but I doubt it. He’ll most likely stay in Boston and cry ‘bad weather and canceled flight’ and not come back. Mom asked if I still wanted to go, just me and her, but truth be told I’m not all that fond of skiing, so I told her no.”

 

“So it’s just gonna be you and your mom for Christmas?” Lipton asked.

 

“Nope. Just me,” Speirs answered with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Mom called me the other night and asked me if it’d be okay if she went on a trip to Hawaii with some of her girlfriends. Told her that was fine with me.”

 

“So you’re spending Christmas _alone_?”

 

“Isn’t that bad,” Speirs answered with a shrug. “And it’s not like my family chose to have Christmas without me; we all chose different things this year.”

 

“Sounds to me like your dad chose Christmas without you,” Lipton said in a slightly angry tone.

 

“Yeah well whose says I consider him my family?” Speirs asked. “I’ve spent holidays alone. It’s not that important. I’ll be fine. Why are you asking anyhow?”

 

“Well I, uh, I was talking to my mother,” Lipton started off sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. “And she remembered how I had mentioned for Thanksgiving it was just you and your mom-”

 

“You talked about me to your mom?” Speirs asked with a smirk that made Lipton pout slightly.

 

“But she asked what you were doing for Christmas and I said that I didn’t know,” Lipton said before he looked up at Speirs with a hesitant but hopeful expression on his face.

 

“Carwood… are you asking me to spend winter break with you?”

 

“You don’t have to,” Lipton said quickly. “It’s just an offer. In case you wanted to do something different. The boarding house is always crowded during the holidays anyways so you might have to share a room with me but-”

 

“I’d love to.”

 

“You’d what?”

 

“I’d love to spend Christmas with you,” Speirs elaborated with a smile that made Lipton’s stomach squirm.

 

“Are you sure? Like I said it’ll be crowded and my mom will most likely just use you as unpaid labor and there’s not much to do in Huntington and -”

 

“Carwood,” Speirs said firmly as he cut across Lipton’s rambling. “I’m positive. I’m sure it’ll be the best Christmas I’ve had in a very long time.”

 

“The best?”

 

“Yes,” Speirs said with a smile. “What do you think?”

 

“…I think you might be right about that.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Eugene looked up from his plate of pasta when he heard a loud and slightly obnoxious slurping noise. Merriell sat across from him with marinara-covered spaghetti noodles hanging out of his mouth. He grinned at Eugene before he continued with his noisy and rather messy eating methods. Merriell continued to smirk at him from across the table, marinara sauce splashed around his face, until Eugene let out a huff and tossed a wad of napkins at his face.

 

“You’re disgusting, Mer,” Eugene said while his friend wiped off his face.

 

“Sorry if I can’t live up to your debutante standards, Sledgehammer,” he snickered before he tossed the used and crumpled napkins back at his face in retaliation. “’know my lower class ways must be a shock to your system.”

 

“Oh fuck off,” Sledge said with a slight grin as he scooped up a neat portion of pasta with his fork.

 

They had their first finals tomorrow but after several hours spent studying today, both Eugene and Shelton had agreed that they deserved a break away from their textbooks and notes. They didn’t have much energy to go anywhere farther than the food hall.

 

“So, you’re moving in with the Doc, right?” Eugene asked after a couple minutes of comfortable silence. “Getting out of the clinic?”

 

When they had returned to Pacific Coast University after Thanksgiving break, neither Eugene nor Shelton had brought up the events of Thanksgiving night. The only indication that anything had changed was the fact that Eugene called him ‘Mer’ now. However, ever since that night, Eugene had wanted to talk to his friend about the ordeal but he had refrained from asking until now.

 

“Yeah, I guess,” he answered after a pause. “He told me his grandma got the spare room all cleaned out for me. We’re gonna move my stuff as soon as we get back.”

 

“Sounds like it’ll be nice,” Eugene said.

 

“I guess,” he mumbled.

 

“You guess? What do you mean by that?”

 

“I dunno,” Shelton shrugged as he turned away from Eugene. “Be different.”

 

“A good different though, I’m sure,” Eugene said confidently.

 

“Whatever you say, Sledge,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

 

“Whatever I say, hmm?” Eugene asked. “Well I say that it’s time to get back to studying.”

 

“What? No, come on, man,” Shelton griped. “It’s been like twenty minutes!”

 

“I timed it, it’s been an hour,” Eugene said as he stood up and put all of his dirty dishes onto his tray. “And as your tutor I cannot allow you to fall behind in your studies.”

 

“That’s bull,” he continued as he checked the time on his cell phone. “Could not have been an hour…”

 

“You know what they say, time flies when you’re having fun. And what’s more fun than relaxing with friends?”

 

“Pff, friend my ass,” Shelton grumbled as he stood up and copied Eugene’s motions of tidying up. “Your tutor-drill sergeant act has been nothing more than a thorn in my side lately.”

 

“It’ll all be worth it when you get straight A’s on all of your exams, Mer,” Eugene said confidently as he bumped his shoulder against Shelton’s. “Then you can properly reward me for my services.”

 

“Why the fuck would I?” Merriell bit out as they returned their dirty dishes. “Ain’t you supposed to be doin’ this shit out of the goodness of your heart?”

 

“Yeah but the tutoring agreement we settled on was once twice a week sessions and we’ve definitely been doing more than that,” Eugene said. “So you owe me.”

 

“Damn nerdy ginger shaking me down,” he grunted as the exited the dining hall which made Eugene chuckle.

 

“I’m not saying you have to,” Eugene teased. “Just saying I’d be nice to be appreciated and thanked for all the hard work I’ve done. Could have spent my time working on my own studies… being a biology major isn’t easy you know-”

 

“Oh, Jesus Christ, Eugene, I got it,” Shelton growled in exasperation. “Fine. I’ll take you somewhere to eat or some shit if I do well on my exams! Ya happy now?”

 

“Sure, but you can’t just take me to the food hall, it has to be somewhere where you can’t just use your student meal plan on me,” Eugene clarified which caused Snafu to grumble under his breath. “And you can’t purposely fuck up your exams just so you don’t have to. I want to see you getting good grades. I know you’re smart enough to get good grades.”

 

“Gee, thanks for the pep talk, mom,” he huffed with a roll of his eyes.

 

“It’s what I’m here for,” Eugene said before he reached out and wiped at the side of Merriell’s head.

 

“Damn, Sledge, what the hell?” Shelton exclaimed as he jerked away from Eugene, face flushed.

 

“You have fucking marinara in your sideburns, idiot,” Eugene said in exasperation before he reached out and grabbed Shelton’s arm to stop him from walking away. “Quit moving, Mer, let me just get it.”

 

“Why the fuck does it matter?” Shelton growled as Eugene pulled a napkin out of his backpack and wetted it with his water bottle. “Does it really fucking matter if I’m walking around for five minutes with pasta sauce in my hair? Like it’s a fucking formal event out here.”

 

“Quit your bitching,” Eugene sighed before he reached out and wiped at Merriell’s face.

 

“You’re fucking ridiculous.”

 

“And you’re disgusting,” Eugene muttered as he turned his head so that Merriell’s eyes met his; Eugene felt an odd squirm in his stomach, he figured his dinner wasn’t sitting right. “I know you and I know you’ll keep this in here until whenever the hell you take a shower.” Eugene took another moment to scrub at his friend’s face before he let go. “There. That wasn’t so bad.”

 

“I feel like I’ve just been manhandled by an old lady,” Shelton said deadpan as he stared grumpily at Sledge.

 

“Well at least I didn’t use my spit,” he said brightly as they continued walking.

 

“Gotta be thankful for those small mercies.”

 

Eugene glanced at his friend out of the corner of his eye and grinned at him. Merriell smirked before he purposely shoved his shoulder into Eugene’s, causing him to stumble slightly which made Snafu chuckle.

 

“Shut it, Mer,” Eugene said with a smile as he retaliated. “You won’t be smiling when you see the next practice exercises I have lined up for you.”

 

“I swear, Eugene, after finals I am going to take you to a fucking gas station to eat,” Shelton stated.

 

“It’s a date. Can’t wait.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Oh, fuck her,” Leckie groaned before he downed a swig of the coffee his friend had shoved in his hand. “Fuck her. Says she wasn’t looking for a relationship so she wants to toss this away? Fuck, using that logic, you find a hundred bucks on the street, you’re not gonna pick it up because you weren’t looking for it?”

 

“It’s rough, buddy,” Hoosier commented from his seat on the window sill, cigarette smoke billowing out through the window.

 

“Bitch,” Leckie growled under his breath. “Stella. I hate her.”

 

“Let it out, peaches,” Runner said as he gave Leckie a sympathetic pat on the back which earned him a glare.

 

“Fuck her,” he declared with red rimmed eyes. “Stella’s-”

 

“Um, Leckie?” Luz spoke up hesitantly; Luz had shown up fifteen minutes ago in his Santa hat and when he saw the state that Leckie was in, he returned with a mug of freshly brewed coffee and aspirins. “Ya know I get your ex is a total bitch and broke your heart, I get it man.  You can call her whatever it is that makes you feel better but can you not do it around me?”

 

“Why? Feeling sorry for her or something? Fuck you, Luz,” Leckie snapped.

 

“No it’s not that because she did you dirty and I really wanna egg her car,” Luz said sincerely. “But whenever I hear the name Stella and you guys calling her a bitch or whatever I just think of my baby sister, who I hope isn’t a bitch or a harpy or whatever and hope that her only flaw is her ungodly obsession for One Direction.”

 

“Well… on that note, how about we try and get you ready for your English final tomorrow, Leckie,” Webster said as he grabbed a book from off of Leckie’s desk and gave it a little wave. “You have a little over twenty hours before your exam. Seems like just enough time to cram.”

 

“Oh fuck off, Web,” Leckie snapped. “I don’t give a shit about fucking finals.”

 

“Leckie,” Hoosier said in a tone of sudden and unusual seriousness as he tossed his cigarette out of the window and hopped off of the windowsill. “For god’s sakes. You aren’t gonna throw your whole fucking semester away just because some chick dumped you. You flunk out of college you get sent back home, right where you would love to be. So how about you get your shit together for a day or two and then you can return to your crumbling, weeping ways. Got it?”

 

Leckie sent Hoosier a burning glare but he didn’t see it. With that parting remark, Hoosier turned around and headed for the door, grumbling under his breath as he did so. Chuckler placed a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

 

“You know he’s right, Leckie,” Chuckler said gently. “You can’t just throw this all away.”

 

“We’ll help you study,” Runner said. “Right?”

 

“Of course we will,” Webster said with a nod. “Now let’s get your cleaned up, maybe get some food in you, and then we’ll get to studying? Okay?”

 

Leckie didn’t give them an answer but he didn’t fight them on it either and they figured they would take his silence as a victory.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

The days leading up to finals may have been hectic and chaotic at times, filled with yells and laughter and loud video games noises from people who desperately needed a break from studying, but once the first day of finals hit, there was none of that. A deadly silence hit Hanks House as the residence desperately tried to cram last bits of information into the skulls, take much needed power naps, and possibly cry somewhere in peace. George Luz still made rounds when he could, passing out Christmas cards and candy canes and handing out cups of coffee to weary students. Ray Person however, had been threatened under the penalty of death by several overworked residences of Hanks House to stop his attempts at holiday cheer; thankfully he had relented without much of a fight.

 

At the end of the day, during a much needed dinner at the dining hall, students found a chance to laugh, bitch about unfair exams, and unwind with friends while they talked about what their holiday plans were.

 

“Three days from now I’ll be back home in Astoria without a fucking care in the world,” Malarkey declared over dinner Tuesday night. “Just a solid month of some solid R and R.”

 

“Are you sure you’ll be able to make it a month without us,” Skip teased as he bumped shoulders with Penkala. “You won’t be too lonely, will you?”

 

“Lonely? Thankful to finally get rid of you New York rats,” Malarkey declared.

 

“I’ll be sure to remember that when you start texting us how bored you are all alone in Oregon,” Penkala said with a grin.

 

“He won’t be alone,” Buck declared as he sat down next to Malarkey and threw and arm around his shoulder. “I’m not that far away. If he wants to take a break from hearing about you two whine about your lame holidays, I’ll be just down the road to pick his spirits up.”

 

“Last time I checked L.A. was not just down the road from Astoria, Oregon, Buck” Skip mused as he smirked at Penkala. “What’s that a, 15 hour stroll down the road?”

 

“Give or take.”

 

“Well it’s a bit less of a trip than the 40 hours between Oregon and New York,” Buck said.

 

“Who’d want to drive fifteen hours to see your sorry ass, anyhow?” Penkala gabbed.

 

“Someone who wants to go attend my New Years-Birthday party,” Buck said with a shrug, arm still looped around Malarkey’s shoulders. “Who’s gonna wanna pass that up?”

 

“Any sane person.”

 

A couple tables over, the conversations were louder and even more exuberant.

 

“So what’ve you got planned for winter break, Ray?” George Luz asked through a wide grin, Santa Hat close to sliding off of his head. “Gonna build a snowman with the Iceman?”

 

“Pff, he wishes,” Ray declared loudly, bits of food spewed from him mouth. “Bradley can’t handle by snowman skills. And even if he could handle my snowman game, he’s gonna be busy all break.”

 

“Doing what?” Julian asked. “Is he one of those fucking crazy people who go on extreme wilderness trips or some shit during vacations?”

 

“No, Bradley’s actually very high-maintenance and gets upset when he breaks a nail,” Ray said in a carrying tone across the food hall as he looked over his shoulder; George Luz glanced to the side and couldn’t help but notice Brad Colbert, who sat a few tables away with Espera from the fourth floor, as he sent an ice-cold stare their way. He shot the man a nervous grin before he turned away. It could be life threatening being friends with Ray Person sometimes. “No, if Colbert’s gonna be doing anything it’s gonna be his little boyfriend who’s gonna finally be home.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Luz asked in minor confusion.

 

“Brad’s little boyfriend; he’s a marine and I guess he’s gonna be on leave soon,” Ray said with a shrug before he grinned a wide grin and continued in his previous carrying tone. “Some straight up Hallmark bullshit level of gay. Making it home for the holidays after being away for so long. Maybe I’ll make fucking cheesy movie off of Bradley and his buddy.”

 

“You could use the movie as a submission to get into the media program,” George suggested in a serious tone but the grin on his face said otherwise.

 

“And if the sappy story line doesn’t work out, I could always flip it and turn it into armature gay porn,” Ray said wisely. “Make a little profit. Starving college kid gotta pay the bills.”

 

“If you make any headway with that porn business, look me up,” Julian said. “Porn can be profitable.”

 

“Who the fuck pays for porn?” George asked loudly which gained the attention of a few students in the area. “Open a fucking web browser and there’s fucking porn on your sidebar.”

 

“If it’s high quality porn you pay for it,” Julian said wisely.

 

“Julian what the fuck do you know about paying for high quality porn? You’re still fucking jerking off to those skin mags from the fucking 1980’s,” Ray said as ravioli spewed out of his mouth.

 

“They were gifts from my uncles,” Julian declared defensively. “It’s like a family heirloom or some shit. You don’t just toss that shit out.”

 

“Okay so now you’re talking about magazines with a family lineage of jizz on them,” Ray clarified. “That makes it so much better.”

 

“Half of them were still in a wrapper when they were given to me,” Julian countered.

 

“Oh so not only have you got _half_ of a collection of familial jizz mags, but you’ve gone and opened a collectable from its wrapping? For shame, Julian. You’re looking for money? Could have sold those perfect conditioned porn mags to some fifty-year-old truck-driver who’s looking for a good trip down memory lane  with a mag full of chicks he still couldn’t have fucked pre-beer gut and receding hairline.”

 

“Take notes, gentlemen,” Brad Colbert said as he strolled passed them with his tray and dirty dishes in hand. “Person doesn’t speak often of his father.”

 

“Oh, very mature, Bradley,” Ray called after Colbert’s retreating backside. “Just wait until it’s just you and me crammed next to each other into a metal tube for hours.”

 

“You’re dad’s a truck driver?” Julian asked after a pause.

 

“…what does my dad being a truck driver have anything to do with getting into the armature porn business?” Ray asked in mild confusion after a pause, as if he had just jumped into the conversation.

 

“Why do I even talk to you two?” Luz asked quietly.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

It was Saturday and almost everyone had left Hanks House; only a few stragglers remained until their flights left the next day. David remained alone in his room; Leckie had departed yesterday with a grunt of a goodbye and a sour expression. His roommate had sobered up but he had stayed in a bitter and slightly self-destructive mood for the rest of his time at PCU. Webster knew that Leckie was not looking forward to returning back home with his family which could not have brightened up his mood at all.

 

Webster wasn’t leaving the dorms until Sunday night, when he would be forcibly removed by the university staff due to the schools regulation. He had plans to stay at a cheaply priced hotel down the road from the campus until he would be allowed to return back to the dorms. The cost of the hotel room would burn a hole in his already limited funds but he didn’t have much of a choice besides that.

 

He was in the middle of packing up his recently washed laundry when someone knocked on the door, surprising him; he was the last person on the fifth floor and there couldn’t be more than a handful of people left in the rest of the dorm. David walked to the door, opened it, and felt his jaw drop in confusion at what he saw in front of him.

 

“What… why… what the hell are you doing here?”

 

“Well hello to you too, Web,” Joe said as he leaned against the doorframe. “Don’t I feel all warm and welcomed.”

 

“Sorry but, seriously, what are you doing here Joe?” Webster asked as he took a step back so that Joe could come into the room. “I thought you left two days ago.”

 

“I did. And now I’m back,” he said simply as he strolled into Web’s room. David watched as Joe looked around the room and took in the unusually messy state of his room. “Didn’t expect your room to be such a pig sty, Web.”

 

“I’m trying to pack up,” Webster said defensively. “You still haven’t explained why you’re here, Joe. San Francisco isn’t exactly down the block from the campus.”

 

“I have to explain? Really? Thought it was obvious,” Liebgott said as he picked up one of the many paper backs that lay littered on top of his bed and inspected it.

 

“No, it’s not, Joe,” David said while he refrained from acting upon his wish of taking the book out of Liebgott’s hand.

 

“I’m here to take you back to Frisco with me,” Liebgott said as she tossed the book back onto the bed and looked up at Webster with a cocky grin. “So let’s get your packing finished and get on the road before rush hour hits.”

 

“Wait. What?” David asked with wide eyes.

 

“You heard me. I’m inviting you to come crash at casa de Liebgott for the break,” Liebgott said as he walked around the cluttered room, not looking Webster. “I know it’s not exactly a five star hotel but it’s probably gonna be a better deal than whatever flea-bag motel you’ve decided to veg out in for a month. It’ll be cheaper too if nothing else and I know you’re a little tight on money nowadays.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Why are you doing this?” David asked quietly. “Why drive six hours to kidnap a guy who might not want to come back with you? Why invite me at all? I don’t get it.”

 

 _It’s not like we’re exactly best friends_ , David barely refrained from saying.

 

“And I swore you were supposed to be fucking smart or something,” Liebgott sighed with a shake of his head. “Gotta spell out everything for you don’t I?”

 

“Joe just cut the crap and tell me why you’re here or I won’t go anywhere with you.”

 

“Fuck, Web, I just told you why I’m here,” Joe bit out. “I know your story. I know you don’t have anyone to turn to for the holidays. I know that you’re planning out on holding up in some shitty motel 6 for a month and dammit, I don’t know if I’ve gotten soft or something but the idea of you moping around a lonely motel room by yourself at Christmas is fucking sad as shit. My mom said it’s okay if you come stay with us. I did ask her before I drove back up here in case you were wondering. I do ask permission from time to time.”

 

“That’s a surprise,” David muttered.

 

“Yeah whatever, Web, but are you fucking coming or not?” Liebgott asked as he roughly shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

 

David stared at Joe Liebgott for a long moment while he pondered over the offer in front of him. Sure, a house with a family and a place to sleep that was free seemed like a good enough deal but on the other hand, did he really want to be trapped in the house of Joe Liebgott for a month? Sure, his and Joe’s relationship had improved over how it had been, but there were still many rough spots that desperately needed to be smoothed out. Being able to converse semi-politely over a meal for an hour was one thing but staying in the same house as each other for a month with little to no escape from each other?

 

 _Well_ , David thought to himself as he stared at his belonging that were tossed across the dorm room, _if you end up only being able to make it a couple days with him those are a couple of days you won’t have to pay for a motel room._

 

David let out a deep sigh before he ran a hand through his messy, dark locks.

 

“What the hell. It’s worth a shot.”

 

“Really?” Liebgott asked, surprise clear in his voice.

 

“Did you not consider I’d accept the offer?” Webster asked.

 

“No. Just surprised that I didn’t have to twist your arm in the process,” Joe said cockily before he gestured to the bags. “Now let’s get this shit straightened up and get on the road. We’ve got a long trip ahead of us and my Ma’s gonna be pissed if we’re not back in time for dinner.”

 

“Well I’d hate to upset my host.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I have to talk about Leckie's reaction to Stella breaking up with him; like, i felt like annoyed with him for calling Stella names and reacting so harshly but it'll be explained a bit more in the next chapter
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of Winter Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hides face* Wow, I'm fucking sorry guys, like, I really suck at this updating shit. School's just been really hectic lately and I'm about to enter finals week for the semester so I'm pretty proud I managed to finish this first half before my exams started. Once again I thought I'd be able to keep all the holiday craziness contained to one chapter but that is totally not possible, so it's getting split up (and this way you can have at least something to read because who knows when I'll update).
> 
> Also, I decided to throw in some Brad and Ray in this chap because who doesn't want that?

* * *

“You could have given us some warning that your flight would be early,” Mrs. Leckie said as she walked towards her youngest son’s bedroom while Bob trailed behind her with his bags.

 

When they entered Bob’s bedroom, he found his father inside, tidying up as fast as his old body and lack of will would allow him to. His father straightened up from his task and Bob was about to see the full extent of his room. He found it in a state of clutter that it hadn’t been before he left. Boxes and plastic storage tubs covered the floor, old clothes no one wanted to part with covered in plastic wrap hung in his closet, and random odds and ends were laid on top of his bed.

 

“Hey there, son, nice to see you again,” his father said without looking at him before the straightened out his back and walked towards the door, leaving Bob with his mother and the rest of the clutter.

 

“Nice to see you too, Dad,” Leckie said in the fake pleasant voice he used around his family; he felt himself cringe as he did it. He hadn’t had to use the tone for months and now it was almost physically painful for him to use it.

 

Leckie let his bags drop to an empty spot on the floor and began moving the clutter off of his bed to the floor. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with this shit or that fact that he had been gone four months and his parents had already started turning his room into a storage unit. He had just gotten off of his plane and arrived home via taxi and if there was one thing he didn’t want to fucking do it was tidy up.

 

“Oh don’t worry about it, Bob,” his mother said as he began to move some of the boxes around. “We will have this room spick and span for you in an hour. Just go downstairs and relax on the couch.”

 

“I thought you kept most of this stuff in Andrew’s old room,” Leckie muttered tiredly as he glanced into one of the storage tubs and found a mess of old photo albums that were much older than Bob was.

 

“Oh we did but we’re actually repainting the room so we just moved this stuff into your room for the time being,” his mother said as she pushed a box into the hallway. “I wished you would have called us to let us know you were going to be home earlier. Then we could have straightened up.”

 

“It wasn’t even an hour early. Wasn’t aware that you would be waiting until the last minute to take this stuff out of my room,” Leckie said as he looked at his mother with a flat expression. Mrs. Leckie gave him a slightly annoyed, mostly tired look in response. Leckie took a step back and gestured over his shoulder. “Think I’ll go check out the old television set.”

 

“I’ll let you know when you’re rooms ready.”

 

“No need to rush, Mom. Take your time.”

 

When Leckie entered the living room, he found his father sitting in his favorite recliner while he watched some old movie on television. For a moment, Leckie debated joining his father on the couch to watch the movie with him but barely even five minutes after stepping inside and he already felt much too irritated with his family. Instead, Leckie grabbed his coat off of the rack by the front door and escaped out the back through the kitchen.

 

The layer of fresh snow crunched underneath his feet as he jogged to his favorite spot, hidden behind the old maple tree at the edge of their backyard. He pulled a slightly crushed package of cigarettes out of his pants pocket and lit a cigarette as he leaned against the frozen tree.

 

Leckie was home for ten minutes and he already wanted to leave.

 

_Merry fucking Christmas._

 

* * *

 

 

Lewis Nixon woke up with a start and as he looked around the completely unfamiliar bedroom, he felt a moment of panic. Bright sunlight filled the room and it made him wince and groan as he fumbled to cover his eyes.

 

“Sorry,” said a soft and apologetic sound by the door.

 

Lewis rubbed his eyes for a second while they adjusted the light. When he was finally able to open them without discomfort, he found Dick Winters standing at the foot of his bed with an apologetic smile on his face.

 

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Dick said as he leaned against the edge of the bed.

 

“No it’s okay,” Nixon said as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. “I should be up anyhow. What time is it?”

 

“Little passed eleven,” Dick answered with a smile. “Mom just left so I figured I should see if you were up yet.”

 

“What was I thinking?” Nixon grumbled. “Deciding to stay in a house full of early risers?”

 

“Thinking maybe you’d like to wake up before noon for once?” Dick suggested as he took a step around the edge of the best.

 

“Nah that can’t be it,” Nixon said with a grin as Dick took another step closer toward him. When Dick was within arm’s reach, Nixon reached out, placed his hands on Dick’s hips, and tugged him closer until Dick sat on the edge of the bed, almost on top of his lap. “Must just be the fact that I’m completely crazy about this one guy I know.”

 

“Oh really?” Dick asked with a grin as Nixon wrapped his arms around Dick’s waist. “Anyone I know?”

 

“You might,” Lewis muttered before he leaned forward and kissed Dick.

 

Nixon had been at the Winters’s residence for two days now. The Winters’s were definitely different than the Nixon’s in several different areas but he sort of loved that about them. Mr. Winters wasn’t exactly the friendliest guy Nixon had ever met but he seemed nice enough; Lewis hadn’t seen him besides the one time at dinner yesterday, what with him being off at work most of the day. Mrs. Winters seemed warm and welcoming and liked to ask Nixon a lot of questions about him and his family, but she never seemed nosy or like she was interrogating him. She also was one hell of a cook, like Dick promised him. Sara, Dick’s nine-year-old sister, was sweet and rambunctious like most girls her age. The only thing Lewis didn’t like about the young girl is the fact that she giggled almost every time Nixon looked at her; it made him nervous Dick told him to ignore it.

 

All in all, Nixon was having a rather enjoyable break so far. Unlike other breaks, there had been no tense silences, no arguments, no snide comments; it was different, but completely enjoyable.

 

“Thanks for inviting me here,” Lewis said quietly as he rested his head against Dick’s shoulder.

 

“I’m glad you came.”

 

It was a proof of how good of a mood Lewis was in and how much he didn’t want to ruin it that he didn’t make a joke about Dick’s comment.

 

* * *

 

 

“Oh, Jesus fucking Christ,” Joseph muttered as he slowly pulled into the driveway of a nice home a few miles from downtown San Francisco. “ _Really?_ ”

 

“What is it?” Webster asked quietly from where he sat, face pressed against the window; it had been a very long and trying road trip to say the least.

 

David was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to curl up on something soft and sleep for maybe a day or two. He would be lying to himself if he was said he wasn’t surprised he had actually made it to Joe’s house.

 

Ten minutes into the road trip Joe and David had already began fighting viciously over the music, with Joe favoring older rock music while David fought viciously to play some newer bands. When David attempted to play a song from his iPhone over the music that poured out of the less than desirable speakers of Joe’s ancient 1987 Chevy Caprice, Joe almost pulled over onto the side of the road and kicked David out of the car.

 

An hour into the trip they had argued at a gas fill up because Joe said they should just buy a bunch of junk food from the gas station and save time by not stopping to eat. David had balked and fought Liebgott because no way was he going to live off of beef jerky for six hours; their argument cost them a good twenty minutes and about five of David’s aspirins and only ended when the cashier at the gas station threatened to call the cops on them for their domestic spat. Joe had cussed out the cashier, declared they didn’t want any of their shitty gas station snacks, and tugged David back to the car.  David didn’t dare bring up the question on where they were going to eat; he knew his headache wouldn’t survive the argument.

 

Two hours into the journey, David made what he assumed was an innocent comment on the age of his car, which caused Joe to become offended. He exclaimed that neither he nor his family had the money to spend on a new town car every couple of years like the Websters did. There had been a pause of silence between them before David reminded him that he didn’t have that kind of money anymore. They didn’t talk again for another hour until Joe asked him where they wanted to stop to eat. David said he didn’t care so they ended up in some chain-restaurant where David barely ate and Joe didn’t speak.

 

David fell asleep somewhere around hour five and woke up over an hour later. He asked Joe if he would like for David to drive for a while so that he could get some rest. Joe snorted and said he didn’t trust his car in anyone else’s hands. Webster didn’t fight him on that subject; he knew a lot of people were weirdly territorial of their cars, so he rested his head against the cool car window while he listened to the sounds that crackled through the car radio.

 

With an hour left in their road trip, Liebgott pulled out his cell phone and called home to alert his family that they were within the home stretch. It was then that David asked Joe what his family was like.

 

“Loud,” Liebgott answered. “And nosy.”

 

Now, after about seven hours of driving together, they sat in the Liebgott’s driveway while David stared at Joe’s annoyed expression.

 

“What is it?” he repeated as Joe angrily turned off the car.

 

“Ya know, my Ma should have fucking told me the whole goddamn family was gonna be at the house,” Joe snapped as he got out of the car. “Would have been a nice warning.”

 

“Your whole family’s here?” David asked. “What exactly does that all entail?”

 

“From the looks of it all my sisters are here,” Joe grumbled as he opened the trunk and began to pull their belonging out.

 

“You have sisters?” David asked curiously.

 

“Yeah. Four of them,” he said as he tossed David his backpack, which he just barely caught.

_“Four?”_

 

“Yup. All older too. And if you think _I’m_ annoying, you just better wait. I’m gonna look a whole lot better once you get a load of them.”

 

With that comment hanging in the air, Joe and David walked up the front steps of the house and Joe opened the door. They had barely taken two steps into the house before they were assaulted by a chorus of loud and demanding voices as four women descended upon them.

 

“Joey! You’re finally back!” exclaimed a slightly older looking girl before she reached out and pinched Joe’s cheek and gave his head a little shake.

 

“Oh my God, get off of me!” Joe cried as he slapped the hand away.

 

“How’s our baby brother?” another girl asked as she wrapped her arms around Joe and smothered him with a mane of curly hair.

 

“Tired and pissed off and currently chocking on your fucking hair,” Joe growled as he shoved at one of his older sisters. “Damn let a man breathe!”

 

“So is this the boy you drove fourteen hours to bring back here?” a girl with a devilish smile asked as she pointed at Webster, who couldn’t help but blush as she began to crowd into his personal space. “Hmm, yeah, I can see it. He’s pretty cute, Joey, but I think he might be a bit out of your league.” David flushed at that comment and felt his mouth drop open while he began to stutter slightly. The girl leaned even closer into his personal space which didn’t help the situation any. “You know you could do a lot better than my brother. Like a lot better. He may seem like a catch compared to some of those college boys but trust me, aim higher. You could do so much better with those big blues and that jaw line. Not to mention your curls.” She reached out and ruffled Webster’s hair.

 

Living at Hanks House had made David more used to unwanted and unexpected physical contact but it still made him uneasy, especially when it came from a woman he had met twenty seconds ago.

 

“Dammit, Elana, get your hands off the poor guy,” Joe snapped before grabbed his sister’s wrist and pulled her hand away from Webster.

 

“I just wanted to check out your boyfriend’s hair. It looked super soft,” she said with a shrug, as if that were the most normal wish in the world.

 

“And was it?” the youngest looking one asked with wide eyes.

 

“ _Softer_ ,” Elana said with a nod. “If you guys could have genetic children they would be born with a gorgeous head of hair.”

 

“Okay first off you guys are fucking weird with your hair obsession, I thought you guys grew out of that shit,” Joe growled. “And secondly, Web here is _not_ my boyfriend okay so how about we just stop this line of conversation right now.”

 

“Come on, Joseph,” said the only sister who had yet to speak up yet; she stood a little behind the three louder girls, looking cool and in charge and was most likely the eldest of the Liebgott children. “You _beg_ mom if your _friend_ can come and stay for break and then you drive over three-hundred miles back to the school, two days after you just drove the same three-hundred miles back here, just to pick him up.”

 

“You begged your mom?” David asked with a hint of a smile.

 

“I fucking didn’t,” Joe sneered at David.

 

“You’re clearly having a domestic spat, not to mention the fact that you’ve been hovering over him ever since you stepped through the door,” she continued coolly with a knowing smile.

 

“I’m hovering over him because before we get to set our fucking bags down we get attacked by you crazy four and then you start man handling the poor kid.”

 

“Sure, whatever you say,” she responded in a cool tone that seemed to visibly piss Joe off.

 

“Girls! Girls let your poor brother breathe!” said an older woman’s voice from somewhere deeper in the house.

 

The four sisters parted to make room for a middle-aged woman with greying dark-brown hair and Joe’s eyes. She smiled at David before she reached out and hugged Joe quickly and then reached out and hugged David, who returned the hug after hesitating slightly. Once again, he was not quite used to all of this constant contact; he couldn’t remember the last time his mother had hugged him.

 

“So you made it one piece huh?” she asked as she placed her hands on her hips and inspected the two boys with sharp eyes.

 

“No, Ma, we crashed and burned somewhere around Santa Rosa and we had to steal a car to get here.”

 

“Could have stolen a better looking car,” one of Joe’s sisters commented as she glanced out the front window towards the driveway.

 

“Well how about we let you get out of the door way and let you set down your bags somewhere before dinner,” Mrs. Liebgott said as she took a step back and allowed David and Joe to finally step forward.

 

“I’ll show you the guest room,” Joe grumbled as he picked up one of his bags from the ground and made for the stairs.

 

“Oh, wait, Joe,” his mother said quickly as Joe began to climb the stairs. “I forgot to mention something.”

 

“Yeah like the fact that all of them,” he gestured quickly to his sisters, “are back here. You could have mentioned that to me when I called you an hour ago.”

 

“Don’t get snippy with me,” she said in a stern tone while her brown eyes narrowed in a way that was so similar to Joe it made David feel mildly uncomfortable. “Things slip you mind when you get to be my age. Anyhow, both Abby and Elana have decided to stay for the night so David is going to have to stay in your room.”

 

“What?” Joe exclaimed.

 

“It’s just for the night,” his mother said with a roll of his eyes. “You’ll be fine.”

 

“Why can’t Abby and Elana say with Izzy or Beth?” Joe asked. “Web’s a guest, here.”

 

“You’re also two college kids who probably pass out more on the floor than in actual beds,” the oldest said with a flat expression. “It’ll be one night and then we’ll be gone.”

 

“Until we’re back again for Christmas,” chimed in the other with a smirk. “Whole family’s gonna be home for Christmas, aren’t you excited?”

 

“Thrilled,” Joe growled before he continued to climb up the stairs and motioned for Webster to follow him; unfortunately for him and his headache, his sisters decided to follow them too.

 

“I’m sure you’ll be nice and cozy together,” one of them teased as she followed close behind David. “You won’t mind sharing for a bit, David. Right?”

 

David sent her a hesitant smile over his shoulder at her. Joe ignored her.

 

“You know, you were here yesterday,” Joe said as they reached the second floor landing.

 

“And?”

 

“You were in the fucking room when I asked mom if Web could stay.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I’m not fucking stupid, Elana,” Joe growled as they stopped in front of one of the closed doorways. “You haven’t stayed here since last Christmas and now all of a sudden you can’t drive forty minutes back to your apartment? You _have_ to stay here?”

 

“It’s late and I’m tired and it’s not good to drive when tired; it’s worse than driving tipsy, you know.”

 

“I know you are all a bunch of chronic meddlers and I really appreciate it if you kept your noses out of other people business for once,” Joe snapped before he opened the door and all but shoved Webster inside the room.

 

While Joe busied himself with tossing his bags this way and that, Webster got a moment to inspect the room. If he were honest, he was surprised at how clean and orderly it all was. To be fair, parents had been known to straighten up children’s rooms after they left for college. But even as Liebgott angrily threw his things pell-mell into his closet and dresser, David noticed certain things he wouldn’t have expected from Joe Liebgott’s bedroom. Like the fact that it seemed to be a comic book store that happened to have a bed thrown into the mix.

 

Posters of Superheroes and famous comic books characters covered most of the spare wall space: everything from rather impressive vintage posters of Dick Tracey and Flash Gordon to brand new, glossy promotional posters for the upcoming Marvel movies. A large bookshelf on the other side of the bedroom was packed with comic books, many of which seemed to be properly preserved in plastic wrappings. It was rather impressive and almost completely unexpected.

 

“What?” Joe growled as he watched David stare.

 

“Wasn’t aware that you were so into comics, Joe,” David said gently as he motioned around to the plethora of comic books and comic related apparel.

 

“Pfff, you’ve seen me read comics all the time at school, Web, way to pay attention.”

 

“Yeah, I’ve seen you read comic books but I’ve also seen Harry reading the Lord of the Rings but that doesn’t mean I expect his bedroom back home to look like the Shire. It’s like Comic-Con in here.”

 

“Well I’m sure if we all went and visited everyone’s bedroom from Hanks House we’d probably be at least a little surprised by what we would find in there,” Joe huffed before he tossed his now-empty suitcase into the closet. “Now come on, I’m starving. Let’s go get some dinner before my rabid sisters eat all of it.”

 

Webster had been in the Liebgott household for all of five minutes and he felt exhausted; he wasn’t sure if he could make it four days let alone four weeks.

 

* * *

 

 

“Ron, can you get the placemats from the upstairs hall closet? The navy blue ones?” Mrs. Lipton asked from her spot in front of the stove while she stirred something that smelled delicious.

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Ron nodded before he disappeared up the stairs quickly.

 

“You know we could have used his help around here a while ago,” Mrs. Lipton commented at the sound of Ron’s footsteps going quickly up the stairs. “He’s a real work horse.”

 

“You talk about him like he’s the first person in this house to do any real work,” Daniel gripped from where he sat on the edge of the windowsill, staring out at the awful cold slush that had been falling all day long.

 

“Oh I’m sorry, am I insulting your nonexistent work ethic?” Mrs. Lipton asked with a raised eyebrow. “Before Carwood left you had never woken up before six to help with the chores. Now, honey, I love you but you should know you’re a bit of a bum.”

 

“Yeah well… anyone’s gonna look like a bum when you put them next to that guy,” Daniel muttered. “Guy’s a freaking machine.” Daniel then turned to look at Carwood, who was quietly working on cutting carrots for tonight’s dinner. “Where did you even find this guy?”

 

Lipton didn’t answer; instead he smiled and shook his head. He and Ron had arrived at the Lipton boarding house two days ago and ever since then, everyone had seemed to fall completely in love with him. His mother seemed to have loved him even since he first stepped through the door and asked if there was anything she needed help with. Even since then he had been doing anything and everything his mother asked without a second thought. Carwood told him on the first night as they were getting ready for sleep that it wasn’t necessary that he did all of that work. Speirs had responded that he didn’t mind and was happy to help his lovely mother, especially when he was getting a place to stay for free.

 

“It’s not like you’re getting a free stay in a palace,” Lipton had said as he tapped the air mattress that had been set up in his bedroom with his toe; as it was holiday season, all of the rooms were full and Ron and him would be sharing his room for the entirety of winter break.

 

“No but if I’m being honest with you I’m not exactly the _palace_ kind of guy,” Ron had responded from where he sat on his air mattress as he smiled the warm, soft smile no one else seemed to receive.

 

“Here you go,” Ron said as he arrived back in the kitchen with the desired placemats in his hands. “Would you like me to put them out on the table?”

 

“Oh, yes please, Ronald. Thank you,” Mrs. Lipton said as Ron nodded and disappeared into the dining room. She then turned to look at her youngest son. “You see, if I had asked you to get the place mats you would have just dropped them on the counter here and left.”

 

“Do you need help with anything else, ma’am?” Ron asked as he reappeared in the kitchen.

 

“No, you’ve done enough work for now. Thank you very much.”

 

“It’s no problem.”

 

“Why don’t you relax for a while?” Mrs. Lipton suggested. “You’ve been working since breakfast. You’re supposed to be on vacation. Carwood will be free from his work soon too and then you two can go out and have some fun out in the town.”

 

“Yeah, just relax up in my room right now and then I’ll be up in a bit,” Carwood responded as he pulled out one of the last carrots from the bag and began chopping it.

 

“Alright, then,” Ron responded before he ducked out of the kitchen and retreated towards the top floor where Lipton’s bedroom was situated.

 

“You know, there’s this new diner restaurant that popped in town while you were away,” Mrs. Lipton began. “I meant to mention it to you when you were home for Thanksgiving. I think you and Ronald should check it out.”

 

“But we’re having dinner here soon,” Lipton reminded her as he scooped the cut carrots into a large bowl. “Why would we go somewhere else when there’s a free meal here?”

 

“Oh, Carwood, you don’t want to eat here in this stuffy place with all out guests,” Mrs. Lipton said with a wave of her hand. “Go out with your friend, have fun. You two have been working hard all semester at school; you shouldn’t come back for break and spend all of it working.”

 

“But-”

 

“Go,” Mrs. Lipton said firmly. “I’m gonna be working you two ragged in a couple of days so you should take the chance to go out while I’m giving it to you.”

 

Carwood knew from years passed how while the boarding house didn’t seem that hectic right now, in a matter of days it would be filled with people and movement and there wouldn’t be a moment to relax. He should take the offer and show Ron the city of Huntington while they had they chance.

 

“Okay, fine, Mom, you win,” Lipton said with a small smile before he quickly washed his hands in the sink and departed up the stairs to his room.

 

When he arrived in his room, Ron was sitting on the air mattress with his back resting against the side of Lipton’s bed. He looked up from his phone and smiled at Lipton as he entered the room and shut the door behind him.

 

“So it seems we’re being given the night off,” Lipton started off.

 

“Oh really now?”

 

“Yeah. But it’s not so much given as ordered,” he continued as he went to sit next to Ron on the air mattress. “My mom wants us to have a break while we still can before it gets too busy here. She told us to check out this new diner in town, show you Huntington. What do you think?”

 

“I think I wouldn’t want to get on your mother’s wrong side by refusing her suggestion,” Speirs said with a smile before he clapped Lipton on leg. “Where to?”

 

* * *

 

 

“Oh, Bradley!”

 

“I thought I told my mother to change the locks,” Brad growled without looking away from his current task at hand, which was reorganizing his closet.

 

“She did but she gave me a new key too,” Ray said as he wandered into Brad’s room as if he owned the place.

 

“ _Not on the bed, Ray,_ ” Brad declared loudly just as Ray was about to collapse onto his bed.

 

“Why? Did you do some special weird ritual to your bed so that it’s perfect for you and Nate to celebrate his arrival home or some shit?” Ray asked as he glanced warily at the bed.

 

“No. I just washed the bedding and I don’t want your unwashed hick ass all over it,” Brad bit out over his shoulder; shrugging, Ray sat down on the edge of Brad’s bed.

 

“What the fuck are you doing anyhow?” Ray asked as he watched his friend fidget over his articles of clothing. “Are you doing that weird OCD thing you do when you’re nervous?”

 

“I’m not nervous,” Brad said firmly while he went to work on properly reorganizing the shoes at the bottom of his closet.

 

“No of course not. You’re only reorganizing your already perfectly arranged shoe collection but what the fuck do I know? I only spent all of finals week watching you reorganized your CD collection ten or fifteen times a day. But then again, it appears as if you haven’t tried to get all the carpet fibers to go into the same direction so I guess you could be worse-”

 

“Shut up, Ray,” Brad commanded; Ray closed his mouth and stayed quiet or a few minutes before he spoke up again.

 

“When’s Nate’s flight coming in?”

 

“Tonight.”

 

“Are you gonna go to the airport?”

 

“No.”

 

“Why the fuck not?” Ray asked. “You guys are disgusting; it seems like your kind of deal. Ya know, waving those cutesy poster board signs made of glitter glue and tears that say cheesy shit like ‘welcome home’ or ‘I’ve been waiting 300 days for this shit’ or whatever.”

 

“I’m not going.”

 

“For reals, bro? Or are you just telling me that so I don’t try and find your gay little ‘welcome home sign’?”

 

“Nate didn’t ask me to come so I’m not coming,” Brad answered from the depth of his closet. “I’m pretty sure it’s just going to be his family.”

 

“But he totally would want you there, dude.”

 

“Like I said, he didn’t ask me. I’m not going to push myself on him if he doesn’t want me to.”

 

“… that sounds kind of kinky, Bradley,” Ray said with a smirk. “Y’all got a safe word or something.”

 

“Ray I swear to God if you don’t shut  up soon I’m going to physically toss you out on your ass and barricade the doors so you can’t get in here,” Brad growled as he turned around to face the smaller man. “And get your cousin-fucking ass off of my bed before you spread some disease.”

 

“Love it when you talk sweet to me, Bradley,” Ray sighed as he got off of the bed as requested. “Nate would be jealous of me if he heard how you talk to me.”

 

Brad turned around, probably about to send Ray on some sort of verbal tirade, when he was interrupted by the pleasant ringing of the front door doorbell. A slightly confused frown graced Brad’s expression for a moment but it was quickly replaced by a smile.

 

“Thank God, maybe it’s the police here to collect you.”

 

“Maybe. Why don’t you go check?”

 

Brad looked at Ray with distrust and confusion clear across his face; there was something off about the tone of voice Ray used, something that just didn’t sit right with Brad.

 

“Ray, who’s at the door?”

 

“Why would I know? It’s your house,” he said with a grin that could only be described as criminal.

 

Feeling slightly worried, Brad got off of the floor and quickly made his way down the hall and down the stairs with Ray quick on his heels. He could see someone’s outline through the frosted glass of the front door and he felt an odd jerking feeling inside of him when he realized how familiar the outline looked. Brad glanced over his shoulder and saw Ray leaning against the wall with a knowing smirk on his face.

 

“Ray what the fuck did you do?”

 

“Why is it my fault?” Ray asked. “I’m just a harmless bystander here so how about you answer the door?”

 

Brad reached out, opened the front door, and when he saw just who was on the other side, he felt as if all of the air in his lungs had left him.

 

“Brad.”

 

Brad couldn’t help the smile he came to his face as he looked at the man that stood before him. The man was a head shorter, blond hair shaved almost to non-existence, bright blue eyes, and a wide, bright smile. The smile only grew the longer Brad stared.

 

Nate Fick might look rather nonthreatening in his blue button down, jeans, and pristine condition tennis shoes with his boyish looks however, both Ray and Brad knew he was a United States Marine, which meant he was the opposite of nonthreatening.

 

“Wha-what are you doing here, Nate?” Brad chocked out.

 

“I’m here to see you,” Nate answered.

 

“You aren’t supposed to be here until tonight.”

 

“Maybe I just told you that so I’d be able to surprise you,” Nate said with a shrug.

 

Brad glanced over his shoulder at Ray, who had a large grin on his face while he nodded his head, looking like the pinnacle of cockiness.

 

“Did you have something to do with this?”

 

“Yeah, homes,” Ray exclaimed while he pushed off of the wall and began walking towards them. “A chance to pull the wool over the Iceman’s eyes, hells yeah I’m gonna be all over that shit.”

 

Ray could see that for a moment there was annoyance and maybe anger in Brad’s eyes but it was gone as quickly as it had come. Brad smiled wider than he had in a long time before he turned back to Nate, tugged him into the house, and wrapped his arms around him.

 

“Ugh, okay, you two are officially making me sick,” Ray huffed as he pushed himself away from the wall and walked toward the front door, where he moved around the couple. “Just remember to not make too much of a mess, your parents are going to be home in a couple hours so try not to scar them, condoms are under the bathroom sink, and if I hear you assholes from next door, I will be both horrified and impressed by whatever the fuck it is you’re doing in the sack.”

 

“Shut up, Ray,” Brad said before he reached out and shut the front door in Ray’s face.

 

* * *

 

 

“I wanna meet these boys sometime,” Faye declared as she lounged on the beat up, red bean-bag chair that sat in Penkala’s basement. “Luz, Ray and Brad, your R.A. and his boyfriend, you buddy Malarkey… everyone.”

 

“Well fly out sometime and you can meet them all,” Skip said as he smiled up at his girlfriend from his seat on the cold basement floor.

 

“Do you know how expensive plane tickets are, Skip?” Faye asked. “I’m paying for my schooling off of my savings and my paychecks from the movie theater; I don’t have that kind of money on me.”

 

“You think we don’t know that?” Alex asked as he turned his attention momentarily away from the television screen where a movie was playing. “We’re the ones who have to fly back and forth all the damn time.”

 

“It was a rhetorical question, Alex,” Faye said with a roll of her eyes. “But someday I’ll make it out there and meet them all.”

 

“You got three and a half years left,” Skip said. “Should be able to save up the funds in that time for a ticket, don’t you think?”

 

“You may even have more time than that with how shitty Skip’s been doing with his classes,” Penkala teased as he turned back around to face the television.

 

“What are you talking about? I did just fine, Penk,” Skip exclaimed. “If anyone’s gonna take more time than usual to finish school it’s gonna be you. If it weren’t for me you wouldn’t have ever made it to your eight o’clock communications class.”

 

“Yeah and if it weren’t for me you’d never have gone to you psych lecture so we’re square.”

 

“Shut up,” he muttered as he flicked a pretzel at his best friend’s ear with deadly accuracy that caused Faye to giggle.

 

Skip and Penkala had just spent the last two hours regaling Faye with the highlights of their Hanks House stories while they sat in Penkala’s cold and dark basement. Usually, the trio would have been enjoying this afternoon in Skip’s considerably warmer, more welcome, and more comfortable basement. However, Skip was determined to stay away from his house as much as possible, what with the source of is greatest displeasure and resentment still staying down the hall from him.

 

Faye and Penkala didn’t question Skip when he said they should hang out at Alex’s instead of his own place; they both knew why and they didn’t want to bring up the touchy subject if Skip wasn’t in the mood to talk about it. The two teens simply silently promised Skip that they’d be there if and when he needed to talk or vent.

 

It was a few hours later into the night when the occasion arose when Skip received a text message that made him frown.

 

“What’s up?” Faye asked from where she sat next to Skip with her head resting on his shoulder.

 

“Ruthie.”

 

“She okay?”

 

“Yeah. She just wanted to know when I was gonna be coming home tonight,” Skip answered as she stowed his phone back into his pants pocket.

 

“What’d you tell her?”

 

“Told her I was crashing at Penk’s tonight,” Skip answered calmly; it was now close to two in the morning and Skip knew that he didn’t even have to ask if he could crash at his best friend’s place.

 

“And?” Faye asked quietly.

 

“Nothing,” Skip huffed, frowning once again. “I keep telling her she might be okay living under the same roof as that… as him, but I’m not.”

 

“How long until the papers go through?”

 

“I don’t know,” Skip muttered, looking more worn down that Faye had seen him in a long time; it broke her heart to see him look so unlike himself. “There are issues with child support because Ruthie’s not eighteen and they didn’t have a pre-nup and all this shit. Who knows when it’ll finally be over.”

 

“Your mom’s just letting him stay in the house?” Alex asked.

 

“She keeps saying it’s so she can keep an eye on him or something,” Skip answered. “I don’t know. I don’t ask her about it anymore and I really don’t have the energy to care about him.”

 

“He’ll be gone eventually,” Faye said comfortingly.

 

“And at least you’ll be away from him a few weeks,” Penkala reminded.

 

“Yeah but my mom and Ruthie and my brother are still gonna be stuck around him,” Skip huffed. “And all of them pretend it’s not a huge deal and they’re not bothered by him being there but I know he’s doing more damage to them then they’ll admit.”

 

Skip let out a deep breath before he ran his fingers through his slightly out of place hair. He shook his head quickly before a smile came to his face.

 

“You know, I don’t want to talk about this,” Skip said. “Hey, Penk, did we tell Faye about the time that Skinny, Walt, Luz, and Ray got stuck up on the roof in just their underwear?”

 

“Um, no, you haven’t told me that one,” Faye said as she brought a smile to her face. “What happened?”

 

As Skip and Penkala began to regale the tale, Skip couldn’t help but think of how lucky he was to have friends like this. He knew that both Penkala and Faye wanted to hear more about his father and how he was doing, but neither person pushed him into doing it when he didn’t want to.

 

The only thing better than knowing he had two amazing people right here was that fact that he had even more just waiting for him back at school.

 

How did a guy like him get so lucky?

 

* * *

 

 

Lipton flipped lazily through the magazine in front of him without focusing on any particular picture or article. He was currently working at the front desk, a job usually coveted by his brother but a duty he was given today because his brother had done something or other that displeased their mother so now he had lost the privilege of front desk duty ‘until further notice’. It was very late or very early, depending on how you looked at it. Ron was upstairs in his room, probably sleeping, as was most of the house. Lipton had the radio on and turned down low, playing soft sounds to break the silence of the old, large house while he tried not to fall asleep on the job. Yawning, Lipton got up from his seat and wandered towards the kitchen to grab another cup of coffee; he had over an hour left on his shift and at this rate he wasn’t going to make it without a little assistance.

 

As Lipton leaned against the kitchen counter with his new cup of coffee in hand, he thought back to another cup of coffee he had recently had; it had been at the diner with Ron the other night.

 

_The diner was pleasant and welcoming, just as his mother promised them as she shooed them out the front door half an hour ago, making them promise to not be home within the hour. When Carwood and Ron sat down in the booth and they both ordered coffee; Carwood drank it with one cream and two sugars while Ron drank it black with a surprising amount of sugar in it. Lipton gave him a look while he watched Ron pour an obscene amount of sugar into the coffee cup and Ron smiled up at him in return._

_“What?” he asked with a grin. “I’m not allowed to enjoy sweet things?”_

_“Just didn’t expect it from you is all,” he responded with a shrug._

_“There are a lot of things people don’t expect from me.”_

_“Probably because you don’t talk about yourself very much,” Lipton countered with a smirk._

_He expected a smile and a shake of the head, maybe a huff or two, but what he didn’t expect was for Ron to lean across the table, look Lipton in the eyes, and ask in a quiet but serious voice, “What would you like to know about me, Carwood?”_

_“Are you serious?” Carwood asked after a beat._

_“As serious as everyone thinks I am,” Ron said quietly while he continued to lean rather close to Carwood. “I know I haven’t been as open as friends should and you’ve gone and extended the invitation to stay with your family over the holidays-”_

_“It’s not that big of a deal, Ron,” Lipton cut across before Ron waved a hand and Lipton fell silent._

_“What I’m getting at is that I know all about your family and what they’re like and all you know about me is that I’ve got a dad who’d rather be working at an office than spending the holiday with his family.” Ron then leaned back in his seat and smiled warmly at Carwood from across the table. “So ask away. Unless you don’t want to in which case I’m not offended, I just thought I should extend the offer.”_

_For a moment, Lipton was unsure of how to respond. Yes, of course he had been curious about Ron’s life but he never wanted to ask questions when he was so obviously a reserved person when it came to his personal information. He wasn’t quite sure where to start. All he knew about Ron really was that his dad was a business man who didn’t seem to give a shit about his family and his mother seemed equally busy with her work but appeared to care just enough to take a break from work for a Thanksgiving dinner she had sent to the house. Fiddling with the cup of coffee in front of him, Lipton spoke._

_“What’s your favorite color?” Carwood started out, almost hesitantly._

_He looked up when he heard a quiet chuckle and found Ron smiling widely at him. Carwood was going to ask what was so funny when Speirs shook his head, rested his elbows on the table top, and leaned in close to Carwood again._

_“My favorite color is green,” Ron answered with a smile. “What about you?”_

_“Mine’s blue,” Lipton answered._

_“Is that all you wanted to know?” Ron teased._

_“You mentioned before that your dad used to move you and your mom around a lot for work right? What was that like?”_

_“…exhausting,” Ron answered after a pause. “From the time I was 6 until I was fourteen I had moved nine different times to nine different states across the country. When I was ten I convinced my mom to let me enroll in homeschooling, told her it would be easier on me since we moved around so much. I did homeschooling until I was fourteen and we finally settled down in the house we have now… I think those years homeschooling might have stunted me socially speaking, if I’m being completely honest here.”_

_“You do just fine socially,” Carwood replied._

_“Now, Car, I didn’t expect you to be such a liar.”_

_“I’m not. I’ve never had a problem with you.”_

_“Well, you’re not like all the rest of the guys, Car.”_

 

“Car?”

 

Lipton looked up from where he leaned against the counter and found a sight most of the guys back at Hanks House would have paid to see. Ron was shuffling towards him while he sleepily rubbed at his eyes, usually neat hair stuck up in several different directions with an old, wrinkled t-shirt hitched up on one side to reveal a large portion of a sharp hip. He looked completely different from the picture of cool, calm, and collected he seemed to be back at the dorm. It made Lipton smile.

 

“What are you still doing up?” Ron mumbled as he stopped about a foot away from Lipton, tired green eyes staring down at him, slightly unfocused.

 

“I’m watching the front desk remember?” Lipton answered with a smile.

 

“As if people at a boarding house really need someone to man a front desk at this hour,” Ron muttered as he took a step so that he was leaning against the counter, side pressed against Carwood’s.

 

“We tend to only do it during the holidays when the house is full and everyone’s a little on edge,” Carwood answered before he took a sip of his coffee.

 

“Well I’d be on edge if I had to stay up all night and sit at a desk in case some crazy holiday traveler had a three a.m. emergency,” Ron sighed before he reached out and plucked the half-full coffee cup from Lipton’s hand.  Carwood watched in mild surprised as Ron stole his coffee cup, took a long pull, and then let out a loud laugh when Ron’s sleep expression crumpled into clear disgust at the lack of sugar in the coffee. “Damn, that’s awful.”

 

Lipton continued to chuckle as Ron handed the mug back to him; he frowned at Carwood after a moment and leaned, if possible, closer to Lipton, looking very much like a pissed off puppy.

 

“What are you laughing at?”

 

“Probably the idea that everyone back at school is scared shitless of you half the time,” Carwood answered as he took another sip of his coffee. “Would you like me to make you a cup that best suits your tastes?”

 

“I’m going back to bed, why do I need coffee?” Ron yawned.

 

“So you’re going to leave me here all by myself for the rest of my shift?”

 

“Depends; when do you get off?”

 

“Six,” he answered as he glanced at the clock on the microwave; it was just after five in the morning now.

 

“Sorry, no way am I staying up for more than another five minutes,” Speirs declared through another yawn before he leaned back against the counter and Lipton. “How long have you even been up?”

 

“Well, I got up at eight so… about twenty-one hours or so?”

 

“No wonder you were so calm when you got sick during midterm. You’ve grown up on running yourself ragged,” Ron said before he reached out again, took the mug out of Lipton’s hand, and took another sip which forced another grimace to come to his face.

 

“It’s really not that bad,” Carwood said while he tried not to laugh at Ron’s expression. “I’m used to it.”

 

“And here I and everyone else thought you were one of the most normal guys on the fifth floor,” Ron sighed as he rubbed at his tired eyes.

 

“Why? Because I work odd hours?” Lipton asked.

 

“No. Because you work odd hours but are also still awake when people who don’t work weird hours are awake,” Ron countered sleepily.

 

“Sure, that makes total sense,” Lipton teased. “Didn’t you say you weren’t staying up any later?”

 

“I said five minutes,” Ron responded grumpily.

 

“Yeah, five minutes ago.”

 

“It has not been five minutes,” Ron argued while he motioned for the coffee cup again; Lipton obliged and handed him the rapidly depleting mug.

 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to make you a cup of your own?” Lipton asked.

 

“Yes. Unless you have a problem with me stealing your shitty, bitter coffee,” Ron grumbled as he close his eyes and collapsed slightly against the counter.

 

“No I don’t have a problem. And I definitely get a kick out of that face you make whenever you take a sip,” Lipton said before he took a sip from the cup.

 

“Sorry if I’m not manly enough to drink black coffee like you, Car,” Ron sighed as he cracked an eye and look at Lipton sleepily from where he leaned heavily against the counter.

 

Lipton didn’t know how to respond, so instead he smiled and drank the rest of this cup of coffee while the two of them stood side by side. A few minutes later, Carwood almost fell over due to Ron’s full weight teetering onto him. Ron had fallen asleep at the counter and had fall over on top him but had jerked awake during the fall.

 

“Okay, you need to go back to bed right now before you hurt yourself… or me,” Lipton said as he steadied his friend, bringing him upright once again.

 

“What time izzit?” Speirs mumbled as he rubbed his eyes frantically.

 

“About quarter after five, so go on up back to my room and get to sleep-”

_“Ahem_.”

 

Carwood turned and looked towards the source of the noise to find his younger brother staring at them with mild interest. There was a knowing smirk on Dan’s tired face and from a lifetime of seeing the expression and having it associated with something less than good, it gave Lipton a bad feeling in his stomach.

 

“What?” he asked defensively.

 

“Nothing,” Dan shrugged, attempting to look innocent. “How about you two get up back to bed. I’ll cover the front desk for the rest of your shift. You’re looking a little indisposed at the moment so I figured I’d do you a solid and offer to cover before mom found you two.”

 

Carwood was about to ask him what he meant exactly when he looked at Ron and realized what they must have looked like: Ron, completely disheveled and collapsed on top of him with his head now resting on Carwood’s shoulder, and him, with his arms gripping both of Ron’s shoulders to prevent him from falling over. Carwood felt a flush come to his face but he tried to ignore it while he helped Ron back into a more upright position.

 

“Come on, Ron, time for bed,” Carwood said as he lead Ron out of the kitchen and ignored his younger brother’s chuckles.

 

Somehow, Carwood managed to lead Ron up to the third floor where his room was with little noise or incident. Ron dropped onto the air mattress with a thud that Carwood was sure that Daniel could hear down on the first floor before he curled up under the blankets. Lipton sighed and once again wondered how anyone could find the guy frightening. He went to take a step toward his own bed, but was jerked back by a surprisingly tight grip on his ankle that almost brought him tumbling to the ground.

 

“Ron! Jesus!” Carwood exclaimed while he tried to right himself.

 

“You should stay down here with me,” Ron mumbled into his pillow, eyes closed and clearly on his way to unconsciousness.

 

“What? Why?” Lipton asked, confused.

 

“I hear you tossing and turning on that bed of yours all night. And I sat on it earlier and I gotta say, the beds back at school are more comfortable and those aren’t exactly comfortable either,” Ron rambled. “I hope the rest of the beds here are more comfortable because if not I don’t know how you people get guests.”

 

“Ron, what are you talking about?” he asked with a sigh as he crouched down closer to Ron.

 

Ron cracked open one bleary eye and stared up at Lipton for a long moment before he shifted over so that he left one side of the air mattress unoccupied. Without answering, Ron closed his eyes and fell asleep within the minute. Lipton watched him for a long moment and thought about what he had been muttering before he fell asleep. Carwood thought back to the kitchen and how nice it had felt to have Ron leaning against him sleepily and how much better it’d probably feel to sleep next to him. Carwood was about to climb onto the empty spot on the mattress before he hesitated, stood up, and took a step backwards toward his own bed.

 

No. Ron was tired and clearly not thinking straight. It would be weird for them both if they woke up in the same bed. Right? Shaking his head, Carwood lifted the covers off of his own bed, crawled underneath the cool sheets, and turned his back to Ron. Carwood feel asleep with thoughts of how cold and uncomfortable his mattress was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again, really sorry about the lack of updates, I should maybe get updates a little sooner over summer? (but probably not because I'm going to be working and also I'm stupid and signed up for a summer class so I'll still be busy) 
> 
> Hope you guys are all having awesome lives <3


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter break ends with fireworks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you guys ready for the longest fucking chapter ever? (it's literally over 15k. I don't know what happened)
> 
> Sorry for the wait again, I hope this chapter isn't a pile of shit because I barely edited the last like, 6,000 words or so? 
> 
> Also tomorrow's the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion and i'm infinitely jealous of anyone who's going to be at the ceremony in Normandy.

* * *

“George, your phone’s ringing!” Stella yelled as she glanced into his open bedroom.

 

George glared over his shoulder as his sister stood in the doorway while his cellphone chirped from its position on top of his dresser. He would have gotten up picked it up himself, if it weren’t for the fact that he was currently trying to get a clump of pink bubblegum out of his little sister’s hair.

 

“I’m clearly a little busy can you get it for me?” he asked in frustration.

 

“No,” Stella declared before turned around and walked away from the room.

 

“Promise me one thing, Annie, don’t grow up to be like Stella,” George sighed as his phone continued to chirp.

 

“Can I still be as pretty as she is?” Annie asked from his spot on the floor.

 

“You can be even prettier,” George declared.

 

“How can I be prettier?”

 

“If you stay just as  sweet and nice and wonderful as you are now, you’re wonderful personality will make you much more beautiful than any amount of makeup that you wear.”

 

“Oh. Okay.”

 

George reached out with an unoccupied hand and unscrewed the lid off of the jar of peanut butter that sat next to them. He had just scooped up a glob of peanut butter onto his finger when his phone started to chirp again.

 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” George sighed as he looked up at his phone.

 

“That’s a bad word, George, you owe a quarter for the swear jar,” Annie said as she looked up at him with stern brown eyes.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” George sighed before he applied the peanut butter to the patch of pink gum in his sister’s hair.

 

“Hey, George, you’re phone’s ringing.”

 

George looked up and found James standing in the doorway, staring at the two of them while he munched away at a pop tart.

 

“Ya know, Stella just told me the same damn thing and then walked away,” George said before he looked down and quickly added in, “Yes, I know, Annie, another quarter in the swear jar,” which caused his little sister to giggle.

 

“Why are you putting peanut butter in Annie’s hair?” James asked as he continued to ignore the phone.

 

“Because Joe put gum in her hair and peanut butter gets gum out of everything,” George said exasperatedly before he reached out a peanut butter covered hand and motioned towards his phone. “Now are you gonna stand there all day or are you gonna give me my phone before it rings for a third time?”

 

“Geez, don’t need to freak out about it,” James muttered before he stepped into the room, grabbed the phone, and tossed it to George, who just barely caught it between his slippery fingers.

 

“Thanks,” George muttered before he checked who was calling him so impatiently; it was his mother. “Hey, mom.”

 

“ _Why didn’t you answer your phone before?”_ she asked in greeting.

 

“Because I’m currently trying to get a piece of gum out of Annie’s hair and Stella just stared in my room and walked passed without giving me my phone,” George snapped.

_“Why is there gum in your sister’s hair? Who put it there?_ ”

 

“Annie says it was Joe but it could have been anyone,” George sighed as he transferred the phone to his hand to in-between his shoulder and cheek. “But it’s fine, it’s coming out.”

 

_“Are you using the peanut butter?”_

 

“Yes, mom, I’m using the peanut butter. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to get gum out of someone’s hair,” he sighed as he began attacking the greasy, gooey blob with a comb. “It’s coming out, okay? Anyway, what’s up? Why are you calling?”

 

 _“Oh, something came up at work and I’m not going to be home until late and you know how your father has his bowling thing tonight so you’ll need to find something for the kids to eat_.”

 

“Really?” George asked with a huff as he paused in the middle of combing his sister’s hair.

_“Yes, really, they can’t just attack the pantry_ ,” his mother said.

 

“Why not? That’s what me, Stella, and James did as kids.”

 

 _“Yes and you three turned out lovely_ ,” his mother sighed into the phone.

 

“Hey, hey, what was that?” George questioned.

 

_“Nothing. There plenty of pasta in the cupboard, just throw something together, it’ll be easy.”_

 

“If it’s so easy why can’t Stella or James do it?” George huffed as he tossed the glob of bubblegum and peanut butter out of Annie’s hair and tossed it into the garbage.

 

 _“Because it’s always been your job to take care of everyone, George, and when you’re home I don’t even think of asking the other two because I have to fight with them to do it and I really don’t have the energy for that right now, I’m sorry,”_ his mother said in an extremely tired voice that made George’s stomach twist. _“Can you please just do this for me?”_

 

“Yeah, yeah of course, mom.”

 

_“Thank you. I love you. You’re the best.”_

 

“Yeah, you owe me one.”

 

_“Love you. Bye.”_

 

“Bye.”

 

“That was mommy?” Annie asked as George wiped the peanut butter off of his phone with his shirt.

 

“Yeah. She’s called to tell me that she’s running away and I get to decide how best to get rid of you all,” George said as he grabbed a tissue and began wiping out the excess peanut butter out of her hair. “You’re gonna have to go take a shower, kiddo.”

 

“Can I be sold to the circus?”

 

“You sure can,” he said before he tapped her back and motioned for her to get up. “You can play with the moneys and elephants and the twisty people for the rest of your life.”

 

“Cool. Where are you selling Stella and James to?” Annie asked as she hopped up into a standing position and turned to look at her older brother.

 

“I don’t think many places would want them. They’re all old and gross,” George teased as he got up off of the ground. “I was thinking of taking whatever money I got from selling you cuter guys and using it to pay those two to get the hell out of here. What do you think?”

 

“I think that sounds good to me,” Annie agreed.

 

“Good, now let’s get you in the bath and then it’ll be time for dinner,” George said as he picked up the smaller girl and carried her out of the room. “Ooff, you’re getting a little big for this.”

 

“Maybe you should just get bigger,” Annie teased. “You are a little short.”

 

“Ya know what? I think you need to spend less time away from your sister Stella,” George decided. “She’s a bad influence on you.”

 

After starting Annie’s bath, George ran down the stairs and began working on dinner for his siblings. As he was getting the water ready, Donnie ran up to him, crying, while he waved a pinched finger in the air. George spent the large majority of cooking the pasta with a sniffling three-year-old on his hip while he tried his best to calm him with kisses and jokes and a hidden sucker that he made Donnie promise not to tell their mother about. By the time the pasta was ready to be drained, Donnie was better and ran off to play with one of his brother or sisters. However, by the time the sauce was being thrown onto the stove in a pot, Rita came bursting into the kitchen, fuming, and yelling about how Joe had attempted to stick a glob of gum into her hair as he had done before with Annie.  George pulled Charlotte out of the living room and set her in front of the stove to watch the food in case it started to burn while he was away before he ran off in search of one of his littlest and most troublesome siblings. By the time he had wrestled all of the bubblegum from Joe, made him apologize for all that he had done, and put him into time out, Charlotte was yelling that she thought the pasta sauce was burning. Luckily, the sauce had been salvageable and by the time dinner was ready, everything was perfectly edible and no one threw any food or slopped too much onto themselves at the dinner table, so clean up was easy.

 

When all of the younger ones had been showered and put to bed, George crawled into his room and collapsed on top of his bed. He had just closed his eyes and could feel his body beginning to fall asleep when lo and behold, his cell phone began to chirp once again. Sighing heavily, George answered the phone without checking the caller I.D. or even opening his eyes.

 

“Hello?”

 

_“Jesus, Luz, you sound dead. What the hell happened to you?”_

 

“Perco?” George asked as he cracked one of his eyes open and stared blearily at the phone.

_“No it’s the Queen of England.”_

“Very funny.”

_“Seriously though you sound worse than the day during finals week where you didn’t sleep for forty hours straight and then slept for sixteen hours until you had to leave to catch your flight. What’s up?”_

 

“Babysitting duty,” Luz yawned as he rubbed a hand over his tired face. “A little brother who’s hell bent on sticking gum in everyone’s hair, older siblings who don’t give a shit, and the ones in between that just kinda sit around, sometimes making the situation worse, sometimes trying to make it better.”

 

“ _Where are you parents in all of this? Did they just skip town and leave you with the kids like in those old cheesy movies or something?”_

 

“Nah, they wish. My dad just has this thing he does on Tuesday and my mom’s work ran late or something so I had to make dinner, wrangle the littler ones into the bath, slip ‘em some cough medicine so that they conk out; the whole shebang.”

_“Damn, you’re like the movie Daddy Daycare or something_ ,” Frank said before he added as an afterthought. _“Wait, you know how to cook?”_

 

“Way to sound completely surprised.”

 

“ _To be honest I’m surprised you haven’t blown something up in the microwave by now_ ,” Frank admitted.

 

“I’m a decent cook okay! None of the kids have died or gotten food poisoning!” George exclaimed. “I’m not like Ray Person who almost blew his face off with Fruity Rudy’s espresso pot.”

 

_“To be fair, I don’t think anyone is as ill-equipped with culinary skills as Ray Person is. Remember when he almost blew up his microwave because he was trying to make cookies in it or something?”_

 

“You could hear Brad yelling from outside; it was great,” he said with a chuckle as he thought back to that particular afternoon. “But what’s up, Perco? Any reason you decided to ring up Jolly St. Luz? Or did you just miss the melodic sound of my voice?”

 

_“I’m hanging up now.”_

 

“Hey, hey, hey, come on now, Perc! It’s okay to admit that you missed me.”

 

_“I’m emailing Winters right now and asking to be reassigned to another room.”_

 

“The only other open room in Hanks is on the third floor with Hoobs right next to Brad and Ray,” George informed him. “Do you really wanna deal with that shit? You get pissed off hearing them bitch at each other through a solid floor of buffer.”

 

_“I guess you may be an improvement when compared to Ray Person.”_

 

“I’m touched.”

_“Shut up. But how’s your break going?”_

 

George thought back over the past couple of days, how since the second he stepped back home he had been thrown back into babysitter mode. He thought about how unbelievably exhausted he felt after being home for just a few days. He thought about how until now, he hadn’t had a chance to catch up with any of the guys from Hanks house. He loved his family, he really did with all of his being, but he couldn’t help but think of how Stella and James refused to pitch in when they knew he’d do it all and how his parents relied on him so much to watch over nine other kids. George thought of how he hadn’t heard from anyone he had been friends with in high school since he had been home and how now that he was talking with Frank, he started to feel a pang in his chest as he thought back to Hanks house and all the amazing people there.

 

George felt the knot in his chest tighten expectantly and he let out a cough in an attempt to clear it.

 

“Uh, it’s going okay, Perc, how’s yours going?” George asked as he forced a small chuckle out and did his best to ignore the odd feelings that swirled deep inside of him.

 

_“Ehh, okay, my little sisters being a pain in my butt…”_

 

George closed his eyes and listened to his best friend rant about his home life, feeling a little happier and a little less tired because of it.

 

* * *

 

Merriell continued to stare at his computer screen for the fifth solid minute; he only broke the trance when his screen-saver kicked in and he shook his mouse to stop it and bring back the webpage he had previously been engaging in a staring contest with.

 

 _Just do it, ya little bitch_ , he thought angrily. _Waiting ain’t gonna make is go away._

 

Forcing a deep breath out through his nose, Merriell clicked on the dressed link and stared at the screen, knowing it could bring him both triumph and failure.

 

“Holy shit.”

 

Merriell refreshed the page and stared at the screen for a full minute before he had to accept that was he saw on the screen was the truth. He had passed all of his exams and passed all of his classes. He could hardly believe it.

 

He had gotten an A on two of his exam and somehow managed to pass one of his classes with an A- average. Well, he knew it wasn’t just by chance that he got these grades. Shelton reached out and fiddled with his cell phone for a moment before he found Eugene’s number and dialed it. He picked up on the second ring.

 

 _“Mer_?”

 

“Hey, Eugene.”

 

“ _What’s up?”_ Sledge asked; Snafu wanted to roll his eyes at the concern he heard in his friend’s voice but he ignored it.

 

“Uh, final grades have gone up for the semester,” Merriell said slowly.

 

 _“Yeah… yeah, I saw earlier today,”_ Eugene said slowly. _“How did you do?”_

“Um…”

 

_“Mer?”_

 

“… I passed,” Merriell said with a small chuckle. “Passed all the finals. Passed all the classes.”

 

 _“You did? I mean, I knew you would_ ,” Sledge said quickly. “ _But that’s amazing, Mer!”_

 

“Well, I didn't do it all by myself,” Shelton muttered.

 

_“Well you could have done it by yourself.”_

 

“Are you sure about that, Sledge? You do remember why I signed up for a tutor in the first place, right?”

 

 _“But it was still you who took the tests. Take a little credit_.”

 

“I guess,” Merriell signed as he leaned back in his while he stared at the computer, still not quite believing it himself.

 

 _“Well you know what this means, right?”_ Eugene said after a pause.

 

“What?” he asked, caught momentarily off guard.

 

 _“You know what this means, right? Since you got great grades you owe me,”_ Eugene said gleefully. _“You owe me dinner, remember?”_

 

“Oh really, Sledge, are you serious?” Shelton gripped.

 

 _“Yup. We had a deal,_ ” Eugene said before he added in less joyful tone, “ _Unless you're really against it or something. Then it's okay, I mean, you don't really owe me anything –“_

 

“No, wait, Eugene, it’s okay,” Merriell said quickly while he felt something odd twist in his gut at the sound of his friend sounding so dejected. “I’m just messing with you. I’ll take you somewhere for dinner when we get back to school. First Friday back, I promise.”

 

 _“Really_?” Eugene asked.

 

“Of course. Merriell Shelton doesn’t go back on his promises,” he declared.

 

 _“Friday. Friday sounds good to me, Mer,”_ Eugene said softly. “ _And I am not going to eat in the back of some gas station, Mer, I’m too classy for that.”_

 

“I’m going to take you to some back alley in town and have you dumpster dive for your meal with some hobos,” Shelton teased, smiling brightly.

 

 _“That’s cheating because you didn’t pay for the meal_.”

 

“Then I’ll buy you a nice meal but then I’ll toss it into the dumpsters for you.”

 

 _“How sweet_ ,” Eugene said. “ _First Friday back then?”_

 

“Yup,” Merriell agreed. “It’s a date.”

 

Merriell felt his face flush and jaw drop slightly at the word ‘date’ but he quickly shook himself out of the weird momentary funk that the single word brought. He went to change the wording, apologize for his idiocy, maybe make a joke out of it, but he didn’t get a chance to do any of those. Instead, Eugene chuckled softly before he said, “ _See ya, then, Mer_ ” and hung up, leaving Merriell feeling flustered and slightly confused.

 

* * *

 

“Babe you fucker are you hiding cards under the table or something because you cannot have won another fucking round,” Bill growled as he stared in disgust as his best friend pulled the pile of crumpled money towards him with a look of utter glee on his face.

 

“Ya know what they say, Bill, it’s that luck of the Irish!” Babe exclaimed as he began sorting his third round of winnings.

 

“Bullshit. You’ve never had a lucky day in the eighteen years that I’ve known you,” Spina declared while he scowled at Babe.

 

“Well that’s even more reason for me to deserve a lucky day if I haven’t had one in eighteen years,” Babe said.

 

“You boys up for another round?” Frannie asked as she looked around the table at Babe, Bill, Spina, and Julian. “Or are you all tired of watching me and Babe win?”

 

“Unless we’re gonna start playing strip poker I’m completely cleaned out,” Julian sighed as he gave his empty wallet a shake for emphasis, the only thing falling out was a single condom that Bill instantly teased him that he wouldn’t need anytime soon.

 

“We don’t want to see your chicken legs, Julian,” Spina said dryly.

 

“At least not when I’m still this sober,” Frannie comment dryly as she gave her empty beer can a tiny shake to indicate its emptiness. “Next rounds on me, fellas.”

 

“Ain’t she the sweetest,” Bill said lovingly as Frannie got up and made her way towards the old fridge in the corner.

 

“It ain’t that big of a deal when the beers are free,” Julian comment as he went to drink the rest of his beer but ended up spewing beer onto his front and the table when Bill wacked him on the back of the head.

 

“Like you could do any better than Frannie,” Bill snapped. “In fact, none of you guys could do better than Frannie.”

 

Babe snickered while Bill and Julian argued and Spina complained about getting sprayed with Julian’s beer backwash. He accepted the beer Frannie offered him and smiled at her when she clinked her beer against his and watched with him as her boyfriend defended her honor. It was nights like tonight that Babe lived for. It was Christmas Eve and the five of them were currently hiding in Bill’s basement while a mix of their various relatives ran in and out of the house upstairs, yelling and laughing and singing drunkenly. There wasn’t much of anything exciting going on, just hours of card games, shooting the shit, and drinking shitty beer while older music poured down the stairs and almost completely drowned out the music coming out of the pair of speakers Julian had produced to plug into his phone, but Babe loved nights like these.

 

Holidays, no matter which, always seemed to be a multiple day event when it came to their neighborhood and Christmas was no exception to the rule. Tomorrow everyone would spend the morning with their respective families, open presents and eat a huge breakfast before they went to Christmas Day Mass, where they would all meet up again and take up a large section of the church. After the service, the neighborhood would begin to intermingle and celebrate together, much like they were tonight, except Babe was sure they would be ten times rowdier, seeing as they had no early church service to attend the next day. Sure, Babe loved Christmas, having his family reunited, whether blood or not, and being stuffed to the seams with delicious food but this right here, spending Christmas Eve sitting in a chilly, dank basement with his four best friends, drinking shitty beer and goofing around, this is what he felt holidays were made of.

 

“Jesus Christ, Babe, quit with the fucking sappy expression there or else I’m gonna have to punch you,” Bill said as he leaned around Frannie and gave him a toothy grin.

 

“Oh well excuse me for being happy to be back home with you all,” Babe said before he took a sip from his beer. “My mistake.”

 

“Why the hell would you be getting all sappy with us being home?” Julian chimed in. “We all go to the same school. We live closer to each other when we’re in the dorms than we do here.”

 

“I get the feeling Babe’s sappy for his own room,” Frannie said with a smirk while she flicked a stray pretzel bit at Julian’s face with impressive accuracy. “No one can be all that happy with your crusty socks lying all around.”

 

“You know if Babe couldn’t handle my socks maybe he shouldn’t have signed up to be my roommate,” Julian countered through a mouthful of pretzels, spewing bits of half-chewed baked dough all over the now beer-soaked table.

 

“More like I didn’t think anyone else on this planet could deal with your socks and I wanted to spare them the horror,” Babe countered with a smirk.

 

“Oh how martyrly of you,” Spina said with a grin.

 

“Martyrly’s not a word,” Julian declared, mouth still full of food with little regard of where it went. “I would know. I’m an English major.”

 

“You are fucking not, Jules,” Babe exclaimed with a roll of his eyes.

 

“Am too. Talked to my advisor. Made the switch official,” Julian said through a grin.

 

“So you’re not a Psychology major anymore?” Frannie asked.

 

“Psychology? Pff, I was only a Psych major for like, two weeks,” Julian informed her with a laugh. “Nah, after Psych I went Communications then a very brief stint in Engineering, and then I was thinking Agricultural Architect but then I decided on English.”

 

“And this was all in one semester?” Frannie asked with wide eyes.

 

“Yup.”

 

“You know it would have been easier if you just declared yourself Undecided and chose a major later on so you didn’t look like an asshole freshman,” Frannie said deadpan.

 

“Well if I didn’t have a major to declare my mom would have told me I wasn’t taking this college shit seriously and then my dad would have started bitching about ‘why am I spending all this money for you to go to school across the country when you’re not taking this seriously’ and then next thing I’d know I’d be back here, being forced to work in my dad’s auto shop.”

 

“But Julian, you _don’t_ take school seriously,” Spina said with a smirk.

 

“Oh I’m sorry if I don’t take school as seriously as you mister doctor,” Julian frowned while he tossed a pretzel at his friend. “Not everyone has known what they wanted to do for the rest of their life since they were five. Sue me if I don’t know, I’m eighteen for Christ’s sake.”

 

“Yeah well, Jules, if you really aren’t that into school maybe you should cut your parts debt and take up the job offer at your dad’s place,” Babe suggested. “I mean, got yourself a secured job and hell, you could own the place when your dad decides to retire.”

 

“Fuck, man, I don’t know if I want to be a mechanic for the rest of my life,” Julian whined. “I decided to follow your ass to college because I figured that it’s the kind of shit kids our age do and I get a chance to get out of the house for a while and maybe I’d figure out what I wanted to do. Why the hell do I have to figure out what I’m gonna be doing for the rest of my life when I’m only eighteen? I mean, shit, how am I supposed to pick? Before PCU I’ve barely ever left Philly.”

 

“Well eventually you’re gonna have to figure out what you’re doing with your life, Julian,” Babe said gently. “You’re parents are gonna eventually expect you to make something of yourself.”

 

“Yeah well that day is not today,” Julian declared before he let out a rather impressive belch for someone so scrawny. “And you’re just trying to get rid of me and my totally not-crusty socks.”

 

“One day I will be freed of your totally crusty and smelly socks and on that day I will cry tears of joy,” Babe said deadpanned while he started at his friend.

 

“Who the fuck knows when that day will be,” Bill snorted as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one.

 

“Well hopefully someday I’ll be married and living with my wife and hopefully not also Babe in some weird, sad bachelor crashing with the married couple situation so…”

 

“Yeah, like you’re ever gonna find a wife,” Spina snorted as he motioned for Bill to toss him the pack of cigarettes.

 

“And also, why am I the lonely bachelor crashing with a married couple?” Babe asked as he drank his beer.

 

“Well Bill and Fran are already practically married and Spina’s gonna be some rich doctor so even if he’s all alone when he’s alone, he can afford to live on his own,” Julian explained logically.

 

“Yeah well, why is it that in this situation I’m living with you instead of you living with me and my significant other?” Babe asked. “I mean, look at you Julian. Are you really more likely to get hitched before me?”

 

“Well excuse me for having an ounce of self-esteem, Babe. Glad you could knock me down a peg.”

 

“Eh, what are friends for, Jules?” Babe teased before he reached across the table and ruffled his disgruntled friend’s hair. “I’m just teasing.”

 

“Whatever, you’re still an asshole and you took all my money,” Julian griped as he sat back in his chair and frowned at his empty wallet.

 

“How about I spot you enough for us to play another round and I promise to try to not kick your ass this time?”

 

“What about Frannie? She gonna be mean and win again too?” Julian pouted.

 

“Can’t promise you that, sweetie,” Frannie said with a grin. “Come on, it’ll be fun. One more game and then it’ll be time to turn in.”

 

“Alright, deal me in,” Julian sighed. “I’ll win it all back tomorrow during our beer pong competition anyhow.”

 

“Beer pong. A blessed and cherished Christmas tradition,” Bill said dryly as he began dealing out cards.

 

“Right up there with Easter strip poker.”

 

* * *

 

“Fucking Christ,” Nixon growled as he stared at the knotted mess of silk in his hands before he began untangling it once again, feeling frustrated.

 

“Do you need some help with that?”

 

Nixon turned to find Dick standing in the doorway of the guest room, looking absolutely breathtaking in a tailored suit that made his body look illegal. Nixon refrained from making comments about how he wished he could tear it off of him, seeing as he thought of where Dick would be wearing the wonderful suit. Sighing in defeat, Nixon let his hands fall to his side and allowed Dick to come to the rescue, unknotting the mess and reforming it into a beautiful tie. Dick stroked the final product softly before he leaned forward and kissed Lewis, who was happy to oblige the man.

 

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Dick asked quietly while he chose to stare at Nix’s borrowed tie instead of at Nixon himself.

 

Nixon thought back to the previous morning when Dick had entered the guest room looking more nervous than he had ever seen him before.

 

 _“What’s the matter?”_ Lew had asked him.

 

“ _It’s just that, uh, me and my family, on Christmas well, we go to Mass together and I know you’re an atheist and I understand if you don’t want to go, I talk to my parents and they understand if you don’t want to go too,_ ” Dick had fumbled as he sat on the edge of Nix’s bed, fumbling with his hands.  _“And it is sort of early so-”_

 

“ _Dick,_ ” Lewis had said, cutting Dick off mid-ramble and reached out to grip his boyfriend’s hands gently. He had waited until Dick was looking at him before he continued. _“Dick, this Mass thing, yeah, I’m an atheist, but this is clearly important to you and your family. And if it’s important to you and your family, well, it’s important to me too.”_

 

 _“Really?”_ Dick had asked, looking both relieved and surprised.

 

“ _Of course. And who the fuck cares if it’s early,_ ” Nixon shrugged. “ _This thing could be at three in the morning and last all day long and I would still go to it if it was important to you.”_

 

Dick had stared at him for a long moment before he moved forward and kissed Lewis while he moved his hands from out of Nixon’s grip and wrapped them around the man he loved so much already. When they broke apart, Dick had rested his head against Lew’s and smiled lovingly at him which made Lew’s heartbeat speed up exponentially.

 

_“Hey, Dick.”_

_“Hmm?”_

 

 _“This thing isn’t at three in the morning and all day long though, right?”_ Lew had asked, which caused Dick to laugh before he shook his head and informed him that no, the service was at eleven o’clock and wouldn’t take much over an hour.

 

Now Lewis reached out, tilted Dick’s head so that he was facing him, and kissed him chastely before he took a step back away from the nicely dressed man.

 

“I’m completely okay with anything that gets you in a suit like that,” Nixon informed him with a smirk as he took another step back so that he could better admire the man.

 

“You like the suit?” Dick asked while a red tint crept up his neck and up his face.

 

“Yeah, you look really hot in it,” Nixon informed him, grinning from ear to ear while Dick’s blush only grew larger and brighter.

 

“Well maybe we can go somewhere nice when we get back to California and I can wear this again,” Dick suggested quietly while he fiddled with the cuffs of his dress shirt without meeting Dick’s eyes.

 

“I’d like that,” Nixon said, smiling softly at the slightly flustered man in front of him.

 

The two were then interrupted by a knock at the door and then Dick’s little sister, Sara, appeared, dressed in a pretty blue dress with her hair done up with a large hair bow, looking nervous.

 

“Mama and Papa want to know if you’re ready to go?” she asked quietly, brown eyes flicking between Lewis and her brother.

 

“Yeah, we’re ready,” Dick informed her with a nod before Dick motioned for Lewis to follow him out of the room.

 

“You look very nice, Sara,” Lewis informed the younger girl with a smile, which caused her to blush brighter than her brother before she scampered away from him. He looked up and smirked cockily at Dick. “Clearly I’m completely irresistible to both Winters siblings.”

 

“Nix, be quiet or we’ll shove you in the crying room at the back with the rest of the babies,” Dick said dryly before the walked down the stairs and out of the house.

 

The five of them piled into Mr. Winters’s rusty station wagon and made the twenty minute trip, the only real noise came from the radio, which crackled in over-played Christmas carols quietly. On the way to the Church, Nixon found himself suddenly wishing he asked Dick some important questions. He remembered Dick told him everyone who knew him in town knew he was gay and he remembered Dick telling him that his parents switched to a more liberal church after he came out but how liberal could a church in rural Pennsylvania be? Stepping out of the car and walking toward the simple-looking church, Nixon felt nervous. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Dick looking at him, clearly concerned. He turned and smiled at him but didn’t elaborate on why he had suddenly become nervous. Dick didn’t press him for an explanation but reached out and gripped Nixon’s hand as they walked into the church.

 

Now, Nixon wasn’t one to really believe in God or sinners being smited as they entered holy grounds, but the fact that they weren’t struck by lightning as they entered the church with intertwined hands was at least a little bit reassuring. They took their seats near the front of the church and while they waited for the service to start Mr. and Mrs. Winters chatted with the couple next to them. Every now and again, a young person would walk up to Dick and smile and wave at him, if they stopped to talk, Dick instantly turned and introduced Nixon proudly with a smile and said “this is my boyfriend, Lewis. He’s staying with us over the break”. No one gave him dirty looks or made nasty comments; everyone who he was introduced to reacted politely and peacefully, some asking Dick if they could all hang out together while they were home for the break.

 

It was nice. The warm welcome reassured Nixon but as the service started he still felt some nerves bubbling up inside of him again. He chose to focus on the service in an attempt to rid himself of his nerves. Nixon couldn’t remember the last time he had been inside of a church, let alone attending a service; he remembered vaguely attending church with his family when he was a child but he couldn’t have been more than five or six. He listened to the man- was it a pastor? Father? He should have asked Dick before the service-preach in a calming, soothing tone of voice. Occasionally, Nixon would look away from the front and take in the inside of the Church: the ornately carved pews, the altar decorated for Christmas with wreaths and important looking ornaments, the stunningly beautiful stained glass windows. It was a little odd and Nixon couldn’t really explain why he felt it, but as the choir sung and the people in the pews sung along, he felt peaceful.

 

Nixon turned to look at Dick but found that he was already staring at him, love shining brightly in his warm brown eyes. Nixon smiled at him while he gave Dick’s hand a squeeze.

 

“You okay?” Dick whispered into his ear.

 

“Never been better.”

 

* * *

 

“Mom, can you pass the potatoes?”

 

“Joe, quit hogging the turkey!”

 

“Isabelle, don’t yell!”

 

“Elana, put your cell phone away! Not at the table.”

 

“David, have you tried to green bean casserole?”

 

“Beth quit making faces at your brother. We’re all grown-ups here, not children.”

 

“Abigail, take Elana’s phone away from her before I have to get up and take it from her.”

 

“David, are you sure you’ve eaten enough?”

 

It was safe to say that in all of his years, David had never had a Christmas like the one he was having at the Liebgott household. It was loud and noisy and filled with tons of homemade food that threatened to kill him at times. It was amazing.

 

For the first two weeks of winter break, Joe and David had spent most of their time wandering around San Francisco and relaxing inside of the Liebgott house, which was infinitely more quiet and peaceful when the two eldest Liebgott girls were gone and at their own places. The two younger Liebgott girls still lived at home but surprisingly, without the other two girls, they seemed a lot less willing to annoy the shit out them at all hours of the day like David had expected. Izzy, Joe’s twenty-one-year-old sister, bothered them from time to time but was usually too busy going out with friends or sleeping until two in the afternoon to annoy them too often. Beth, who was twenty-three, turned out to be very sweet and usually only bothered them to ask what they wanted for dinner if she was cooking or if they were up for running into town with her on some errand and only teased them once or twice over dinner. David stayed in the guest room down the hall, which was average sized, simple, and wasn’t as obnoxious to look at as Joe’s comic-book room. He enjoyed having his privacy back after so many months living in the crowded dorms. His privacy was lost once again the night before when Joe’s two oldest sisters, Elana and Abigail, returned for Christmas.

 

David had been mildly surprised when he realized that the Liebgott family celebrated Christmas. Joe had picked up on his surprise earlier this morning and after a brief argument that only ended when one of his sisters arrived around the corner, clearly intent on hearing their ‘marital spat’,  David agreed to tell him what was on his mind once they were in the privacy of Joe’s room. Alone again, David explained that he, and the majority of those at Hanks House it seemed, believed Joe and his family to be Jewish. Webster had expected a fight or at least a couple of choice words, not for Joe to snort and roll his eyes, grinning. After a moment Joe had explained that while his father was Jewish and had been raised Jewish, he had fallen off the ‘whole religion boat’ and his mother had been raised Catholic and still practiced so they had been raised Catholic.

 

After the delicious dinner, some of the Liebgott family decided to relax in the living room but David, feeling stuffed and extremely sleepy, decided to call it an early night and get ready for bed. He was on his way back from the bathroom and about to enter Joe’s room when a voice stopped him.

 

“You know we’re not trying to be mean or anything, right?”

 

David turned and found Elana leaning against her doorway, smiling at him. He hadn’t heard a door open or anyone move; it both surprised and scared him how stealthily the young woman moved. David wasn’t sure how to respond to her, so he found his mouth dropping open slightly while he struggled for the right words to say.

 

“We just want you two to be happy,” Elana continued as she steamrolled over his gaping mouth. “You two are really cute together and I haven’t seen Joe this happy in years.”

 

David fought against the urge to comment on the fact that Joe, being sarcastic and snarky and rolling his eyes, was the happiest he’d been in years and instead focused on Elana’s accusation.

 

“Um, me and Joe _aren’t_ together,” David informed while blushing. “We’re just friends.”

 

“Well you might just be ‘just friends’ but I can tell that Joe totally wants to be more than friends with you,” Elana said with a smirk. “And to be honest I getting a similar feeling from _you_.”

 

“Joe’s not, um, Joe doesn’t like me like that,” Webster stuttered.

 

“Why do you think so?”

 

“Um, I’m a _guy_ ,” Webster answered, feeling very confused; his confusion only increased when Elana’s jaw dropped slightly and her eyes widened.

 

“ _You don’t know,”_ she said in a hushed but excited voice.

 

“Know what?”

 

“Oh my god,” Elana whispered. _“How could you not know?”_

 

“Not know what?” David asked while he began to feel annoyed and angry.

 

Instead of answering Elana ran quickly down the hall, stopped at one of the rooms, ran inside, and quickly returned, pulling Izzy with her by the arm; the smile on Elana’s face made David feel extremely nervous.

 

“Okay, tell Izzy why you don’t think Joe would be interested in you,” Elana said with bright eyes and a gleeful smile.

 

“No,” David snapped, his annoyance spiking. “No, I’m clearly out of the loop on something and you’re not gonna tell me and I don’t feel like being laughed at so if you excuse me,” David opened up Joe’s bedroom door and took a step back into the room, “I’m going to get some sleep-”

 

“ _Joe’s gay!”_ Izzy hissed before Webster managed to close the door.

 

“What?” David asked slowly as he looked between the two girls. “Are you fucking with me?”

 

“No.”

 

“We promise we’re not.”

 

“Joe came out at the beginning of high school.”

 

“Like we promise we’re not messing with you.”

 

“We aren’t that mean.”

 

“We just all think you and Joe are a good fit.”

 

“And he totally likes you because he _invited you over for Christmas_.”

 

“So, what a second,” Elana exclaimed, holding her hands up for added emphasis. “Earlier, when I said I thought you two were good together, you’re only complaint was that you didn’t think Joe liked you because you didn’t know he was gay.”

 

“What?” Izzy asked with wide eyes.

 

_“So does that mean that you like Joe back?”_

 

If David thought he was blushing before it was nothing compared to how red his face was now. His mouth fell open again and once again didn’t have any idea as to what he should say. He was trapped.

 

“What the hell is this?”

 

“Joe!” David gasped, turning his head to watch as Joe walked up the stairs, dark eyes shifting warily from his sisters to Webster.

 

“Hey, _Joey_ ,” Izzy said sweetly while completely failing to look innocent. “We were just having a nice little chat with David.”

 

“Bullshit,” Joe snapped before he stopped next to David and pointed an accusatory finger at him. “What the hell did they say to you? You know what, never mind.” He then turned to glare at his older sisters. “Can’t you two keep the poor kid alone? You’re like fucking wolves attacking a rabbit.”

 

“I’m _not_ a rabbit,” David declared in offense.

 

“Don’t worry, Joe, we aren’t trying to hurt him,” Izzy said as she took a couple steps backwards, moving towards her bedroom.

 

“Why are you so defensive? We’re just trying to be nice,” Elana said before she took a long step backwards and ducked into her room.

 

David watched as Joe huffed and grumbled something under his breath before he moved into his bedroom; David followed slowly behind him. He sat down on his air mattress and watched as Joe moved around his room, grumbling under his breath, clearly on edge. David had to wonder just how much of their conversation he heard before he stopped it. Finally, after several minutes, Joe turned to him, frowning with his dark eyes shining brightly.

 

“What did they say to you?”

 

David opened his mouth and for a moment he considered telling Joe that he knew about him and his sexuality but at the last moment decided against it; he was tired and it was Christmas and he really wasn’t in the mood for an argument.

 

“Nothing,” David responded.

 

Joe stared at him with a furrowed brow before he sighed, grabbed a pile of clothes, and left to go change, leaving David alone to think about what his sisters had said.

 

* * *

 

It was three days after Christmas and the boarding house had begun to return to its pre-holiday season state of operations. Most of the guests had left and the ones who were still there seemed keen on relaxing and taking it easy.

 

The day after Christmas Emma had left to go on a trip with some of her best friends with promises of returning home before Carwood left again. Since they had lost a pair of helping hands for the rest of the holiday season, Carwood planned on helping as much as he could but, as things tended to be recently, his mother had different ideas.

 

“ _Get out of here_ ,” Mrs. Lipton insisted while she waved a dish towel at her oldest child.

 

“What?” Lipton asked as he paused in the middle of putting a large stack of dishes away; he didn’t know how his mother did it but even in a wheelchair she still managed to sneak up on him.

 

“Have you even left the house in past week?” his mother asked.

 

“Yeah, me and Ron ran to the store the other day to pick up-” Lipton was cut off by another whack of his mother’s dish towel. “Mom!”

 

“I mean when was the last time you left the house and not because of some errand?”

 

Carwood didn’t answer because he knew the answer was when Mrs. Lipton had forced them out to the diner and he knew she wouldn’t like to hear the truth. It didn’t matter though; she knew what the answer was.

 

“Carwood Lipton, I appreciate your help but you are on vacation, you have a friend over, go out and do something fun,” she said in a firm tone that told Carwood he was not to argue with her. “I understand you are just trying to help, both of you, but I say this because I love you: get a life.”

 

Without another word, Carwood put the last dish away and then disappeared up the steps that lead to his room where he knew he would find Ron. The last few days had been completely hectic and there had been very little opportunity to get out of the house except to run a much needed errand; Lipton couldn’t have gone out and had fun even if he had planned to.

 

He thought of Ron and how instead of a vacation he got to be used as unpaid help for a bunch of cranky holiday travelers. But the man had not once griped or complained or even appeared to be less than happy to do whatever it was that his mother asked of him; he almost believed what his brother said about Ron being too good to be true. The past few days had been so unbelievably busy that even though the two of them shared Lipton’s small room they had barely had a chance to talk for more than a couple moments here and there. It was a little sad to say but the last time Carwood and Ron had really a chance to talk to each other had been at the diner.

 

“Ron.”

 

Carwood entered his bedroom and found Ron sitting on his bed with his back pressed against the wall with a book in his hands; he glanced at the cover and recognized it as one of the many paperbacks that sat messily on his desk in the corner of the room. Ron smiled up at him as closed the book and set in down into his lap.

 

“What’s up?”

 

“We’re being kicked out,” Carwood said as he leaned against the door frame, earning a slightly confused look from Ron. “My mom said we need to get out of here and have some fun while it’s not busy and we’re still on vacation.”

 

“Well, I could go for stretching my legs,” he said as he stretched his arms above him and let out a small yawn; Lipton noticed a strip of flesh appear as the hem of Ron’s sweater lifted upwards and he quickly shifted his eyes away from the small patch of skin. “Seriously, Car, I don’t know how you sleep on this thing; it’s like a brick.”

 

“Some people like a firm mattress, Ron,” Lipton said after a slight pause.

 

While he watched Ron tied his tennis shoes and pulled on his coat, Lipton’s mind drifted back to that one night about a week ago when Ron had first commented on the comfort level of his mattress. He thought of Ron’s eyes hazing with sleep while he smiled tiredly at him and tried to convince him to share the air mattress on the floor. Lipton hadn’t slept well that night and spent the majority of it listening to Ron’s deep breathing. The next day Ron had asked him if he joined him in the kitchen or if he had dreamt that; Lipton clarified to him that it had happened but there was no mention of Ron’s request or Carwood’s decline. Despite Ron seeming to not remember the incident, there was a weird air between the two young men. Carwood didn’t like how their friendship seemed to have suddenly skewed slightly away from what it normally was and wasn’t sure how he was supposed to make things go back to normal.

 

Together, he and Ron left the house and got into Carwood’s truck before they drove off towards town; in all the time that Ron had been staying in Huntington he had never gotten a proper tour of the town so Lipton thought it would be at least a little enjoyable to run around town for a bit.          

 

Carwood parked his truck in a safe parking lot near the center of town and together they walked up and down the main streets, ducking into interesting shops here and there, while Carwood informed of important town tales and notable places. It was still cold out, what with it being the tail end of December, but it was on the warmer side of winter and most of the snow had melted off of the ground and the wind wasn’t too bad so they were able to enjoy their stroll around town. Carwood was just about to suggest that they return to the car so that he could drive them to another part of town, maybe the riverfront, when he heard a familiar voice calling out his name. At first he wasn’t that surprised, it could be someone he went to high school with, but when he heard someone calling Ron’s name as well he felt confused.

 

“ _Andy?_ ” Carwood asked with wide yes. “ _Eddie?”_

 

“Well would you look at that,” Ron smirked as he watched the two familiar faces move towards them with grins on their faces.

 

Andy and Eddie looked as they always did, Andy with his slightly curly dirty blond hair smoothed back and Eddie with his curly hair completely out of control. It was amazing to see the two men again, especially since Lipton got along with the fourth floor R.A. and his best friend so well, but it was a little jarring to see someone from school here in his hometown.

 

“What the hell are you two doing here?” Lipton asked as Andy hugged him in greeting.

 

“Me and Eddie took a bit of a road trip for the holidays,” Andy answered as he greeted Ron; Andy and Eddie were some of only a couple people who not only didn’t believe the rumors that surrounded Ron but also got along with the guy. “I forgot Ron was staying with you for the break. How have you two been?”

 

“Free lodging with a nice family, can’t complain really,” Ron answered with a smile and a shrug. “It’s been a nice change of pace.”

 

“So are you two just passing through Huntington?” Lipton asked.

 

“We were going to start driving back to the school but something happened with the car so we’re getting it looked at right now at this mechanics down the road.”

 

“Something happened,” Eddie muttered skeptically while he gave Andy a dry look. “More like you ignored all the little flashing lights on the dashboard that tell you something’s wrong.”

 

“Half of those lights flash on when there’s nothing wrong,” Andy said in defense with an almost sheepish smile. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

 

“Well, if the car takes any longer to get fixed, we’re gonna have to find a place to hunker down in for the night,” Eddie said as he gave Andy another look. “You wouldn’t happen to know of a good, preferably cheap place for us to crash for the night, would you?”

 

“As a matter of fact I would,” Lipton said as he turned to Ron with a smile on his face. “Let me just make a call.”

 

Lipton made a quick call back home where he asked his mother if they still had an open room and if she wouldn’t mind giving it up to two of his friends from school. She hadn’t had an issue with the idea, thrilled with the thought of meeting more of her son’s friends, and told him that she was getting the room ready but told him the two boys would have to share; he told her that they wouldn’t mind. Andy and Eddie were ecstatic about the idea of not only stumbling on a place to stay but a free place and agreed to join Carwood and Lipton while they wandered around the city.

 

Lipton drove the four of them to the riverfront, which was empty since it was the middle of winter, but it was still enjoyable to watch the partially frozen water rush down the river. Ron and Eddie walked in opposite directions down the river’s edge while Lipton and Andy sat back on some large rocks while they watched the two quieter men walk in solitude.

 

“You and Ron have been having a good break?” Andy asked as he stared off into the distance, eyes focusing somewhere in the general direction of where Eddie had run off earlier.

 

“Yeah. My mom’s been working us like dogs at the boarding house because of the holidays; still feel bad that I invited Ron here and instead of a relaxing holiday he gets to work and sleep on an air mattress,” Lipton admitted sheepishly.

 

“I’m sure if you invited him to spend all of break living in a desert or working in a sweat shop he still would have agreed to go with you,” Andy said with a smile as he turned his focus away from whatever he had been staring at and glanced at Speirs.

 

“I don’t think he would go to that extent,” Lipton said as he watched Speirs pick up a flat rock and attempt to skip it across the water.

 

“Really? Because I think he would,” Andy said as he turned his attention back to Carwood. “I’ve known Ron for a year and granted that’s not a lot of time, but it’s enough time to know that he really likes you.”

 

“What?” Carwood asked, feeling suddenly warm even though the cold wind had just picked up.

 

“He’s never been close to anyone really. Sure, Dick and Harry are friends with him but whenever I see them I get the feeling he’s holding back still,” Andy said quietly. “But seeing him with your today in town, it’s like he’s a different person, like he doesn’t have any boundaries around you. You’re special to him.”

 

Once again, Carwood thought about the night in the kitchen. He thought about how not only had Ron stumbled down looking like a mess to look for him but he had been unafraid to share a cup of coffee and was so comfortable next to him that he fell asleep. All of that, Carwood doubted he would have done that in front of the guys back at Hanks House. Ron cared about his appearance and while he never disputed the rumors that surrounded him he didn’t seem to argue with the intimidating air that they gave him. The more Carwood thought about it the more he had to believe that Andy was right and that for whatever reason, he was clearly special to Ronald Speirs.

 

 _But I’m special to him_ , Carwood wondered as he watched Ron standing at the water’s edge, _what is he to me?_

 

* * *

 

“Annie, I told you that you’re not supposed to be calling me.”

 

Annie had called him yesterday and had been extremely upset that not only was he not home for Christmas but no one in the family, not their mother or father or even their brother, acknowledged that David wasn’t present or even existed. He had attempted to calm her down as best as he could over the phone and once she had stopped crying he had told her to get off the phone before one of their parents caught her; David expected her to be punished if she got caught.

 

David was now alone in one of the Liebgott’s guest rooms, sitting on the edge of the bed; Joe’s older sisters had left once again after Christmas so he was able to return to the room.

 

“Mom or Dad finds out-”

 

 _“I don’t care. I hate them_ ,” his little sister declared angrily. _“I hope they catch me talking to you. Maybe they’ll send me away somewhere and I can run away to live with you_.”

 

“If they sent you away they would make sure to send you to the opposite side of the world so you wouldn’t be able to do that. And they’d probably send you to some super strict boarding school. Trust me, being exiled from the family isn’t fun.”

 

David felt his heart tug as he listened to his sister talk about home. David pressed a hand to his eyes when he felt them begin to well up but told himself he was not about to start crying, especially when Joe could walk in on him at any given moment. He wanted to keep talking to Annie, he missed her more than he thought possible, but David didn’t know if it made things better or worse when he heard from her; after their conversations he felt drained with grief and thoughts of their family came fresh to his mind and he didn’t know how much longer he could do this.

 

“Annie,” David said after about half an hour of talking, or really Annie talking while he listened. “Annie, I need to go now.”

 

 _“Why?”_ Annie asked.

 

“I just… I just need to go somewhere now, okay?” David said as gently as he could manage. He then glanced at his watched, looked at the time, and thought of what time it must be back home right now. “Mom and Dad should be home now. What if they catch you talking to me?”

 

_“I don’t care.”_

 

“Well I do, Annie. They won’t be happy if-”

 

David didn’t get to finish his sentence and Annie didn’t get to hear it. Instead there was a tiny gasp from Annie before a wail and then an angry, male voice that made David’s stomach curl. He called out to Annie, even though he knew she wouldn’t hear, and instead was greeted by the angry, low growling of his father.

 

 _“What the hell do you think you are doing?”_ his father’s voice spat at him through his cell phone. _“How dare you talk to her? Haven’t we made it clear we don’t want to associate with your kind of people?”_

 

David felt as if a ball of ice dropped into the pit of his stomach while his heart seemed about to burst out of his chest. He wanted to yell, wanted to fight him and tell the man that he was awful and wrong and he should let Annie talk to him if she wished but he found that he could barely breathe let alone speak. So David sat there, on the edge of the bed, while his father screamed obscenities at him through the phone, and found that he couldn’t move or even manage to end the call, end the screaming.

_“We’ve accepted the fact that you being an abomination was mine and your mother’s fault for not properly raising you but don’t you dare think we’ll let you spread your ways to your impressionable little sister. You will not call her or try to contact her ever again. You will not be welcomed back at this home as long as you claim to suffer from this illness-”_

 

Suddenly, David felt as if his father’s awful words had broken the spell that kept him frozen and underneath it all David found he was filled with bubbling, white hot rage.

 

“This is not an illness but you’re fucking right you and mom didn’t raise me right! But I’m not gay because you fucked up! I’m gay because that’s who the fuck I am!” Webster yelled into the phone, not caring that the entire house and possibly the street could hear him. He yelled so loud he couldn’t even hear if his father responded; he didn’t care though. He never wanted to hear that awful man’s voice ever again.  “I am not an abomination, asshole, I’m a person. I’m a person who has no family and no home because of you and your fucked up ways. And even if you and mom decided to pull your heads out of your asses I wouldn’t want to come back there ever again. And you can’t tell me not to talk to my sister when she’s the only family I have!”

 

Feeling his anger reach the apex, Webster tossed his phone with little regard of where it landed and got up from his bed only to find Joe standing in the doorway, staring at him with concerned eyes.

 

“Web…”

 

Feeling raw with emotions, David pushed passed Joe roughly and ran down the stairs. He didn’t stop running when he left the house or was down the street or several blocks away. David kept running until his chest burned and his heart was pounding at a painful rate. When he stopped and looked around he realized he had no idea where he was but also that he didn’t care. Huffing and puffing Webster slowed to a walk and continued to move down the unknown street while his father’s voice bounced around his head. The last time he had heard his father’s voice had been on his way out the door while he screamed similar things at him as he did on the phone.

 

His exhaustion, both physical and mental, hit him suddenly. Webster stopped and looked up with the intention of finding a place to rest and instead found the ocean. As he stared at the water, he felt an odd calm fall over him; his exhaustion and pain and sadness and anger weren’t gone but they felt as if they had been temporarily muted. He had an ocean to look at back home, a different one, but David remembered watching it and finding peace when he was upset or stressed. Not knowing what else to do, he wandered down the beach and took a seat near the water in the cold sand. The breeze was salty and cool and he took in a deep, calming breath of it while his father’s voice still bounced around in his head. Breathing deeply, David closed his eyes and expected to see his father’s face as he yelled at him to get out of the house but instead found a different face with a much different voice.

 

_“You know, maybe if you apologized… told mommy that you were making it all up… maybe she’d let you stay here and go to Harvard,” said a soft voice tentatively from somewhere behind David._

_He paused in the middle of his packing to turn and look at his younger sister, Annie. Tiny for a twelve year old with long curly brown hair and blue eyes, she stood in the open doorway, looking nervous. David let out a sigh after a long moment, feeling more tired than he had ever felt before. He had spent the last hour having the worst argument of his life and now he was busy packing as many of his possessions into as few bags as possible._

_“I can’t do that Annie…” he said gently as he attempted to shove more clothes into his already over-stuffed suitcase._

_“Why not?” Annie protested in a louder voice as she took a step into the room. “Why can’t you just apologize for what you said? Explain to Daddy what had really happened and then things should be just fine-”_

 

_“I can’t apologize because there’s very little I have to apologize for, Annie!” Webster yelled at his sister as he felt his temper flare once again._

_He watched as he saw his little sister’s eyes pop open in fear over his sudden outburst. He never ever raised his voice towards her, that wasn’t him, that was John or their dad. David was always so nice and gentle with his sweet, baby sister. David let out another deep breath before he continued._

_“I can’t, Annie,” he said in a forced-calm tone of voice. “I can’t and I won’t apologize…because this is who I am and I shouldn’t have to change myself and apologize for who I am just to please people who should love me unconditionally.”_

 

_Annie continued to stare at him with wide eyes, as if she wasn’t sure she heard the right thing come out of her eldest brother’s mouth. She blinked her large eyes slowly before she swallowed and turned to look up at David, looking as close to tears as he had felt ten minutes ago._

_“Oh,” she breathed shakily._

_“Yeah…”_

_“So you weren’t… what John told me… you’re…” she looked vaguely uncomfortable as she paused and looked over her shoulder before she lowered her voice even more, “gay?”_

_“Yes, Annie, yes I am,” he said slowly, almost as if he was trying to convince himself. But no, he had convinced himself many years ago, it was just weirder for people to be discussing it out loud. “And until Mother and Father accept that, I’m afraid I can’t live here anymore.”_

_“But… but what about your schooling? And you’ll visit right? You’re going to still be going to Harvard, right?”_

 

_Annie didn’t know then. Almost two months ago David had finally informed his parents that no, he was not going to attend Harvard like he had told them he would and told them that he had not only rejected Harvard’s offer of acceptance but planned to go to some small, seemingly ordinary and unimportant college on the other side of the country. He had to wonder how Annie hadn’t heard about that with how colossal their fight had been but then again they had been fighting a lot lately and Annie usually cleared out whenever people started screaming; truth be told  David was surprised his parents hadn’t kicked him out then and there. Web opened his mouth, ready to correct his sister on what his plans were now when he heard the pounding of feet approaching. His younger brother appeared behind Annie, looking just as he always had, David in miniature, but angrier and more upset than Web had ever seen before. The two teenage boys stood and stared at each other for a long tense moment while small Annie stood in the middle, looking torn._

 

_“Packing up to leave?” John spat as he glanced at the bags at David’s feet. “Good. No one want you here, faggot.”_

_“John!” Annie cried, looking horrified at his choice of language._

_“What, that’s what he is, right?” John said as he took a step forwards so that he could get right up into his older brother’s face. “I saw what I saw, him fucking swapping spit with that guy. He didn’t even fucking try to deny it or anything.”_

_“Because I’m tired of fucking hiding who I really am, John,” David growled, doing his best not to let his hurt and pain into his voice. It was a difficult feat; John’s words felt like knives to the gut. “I’m sick of feeling ashamed for who I am, for something I can’t even control.”_

_“Whatever, just get the fuck out of this house before your disease spreads, fag,” hissed before he reached out and roughly shoved David’s shoulders, which caused him to stumble over his bags and fall to the ground._

_“John, please, stop this,” Annie said as she took a tentative step forwards while tears ran down his cheeks._

 

_“I’ll stop when he stops, Annie,” John said in a cold tone as he stared at his older brother. “When he stops fucking embarrassing our entire family for fucking taking it up the ass for some random-ass guys-”_

_“You are way out of line, John!” David yelled as he got up from the ground and got into John’s face._

_“Oh really?”_

_“You saw what happened with your own eyes, I only kissed him. Don’t go making shit up just because you’re pissed at me.”_

_“Well I know what I saw but I don’t know if you’re hiding anything else. Not like you’ve never hidden anything ever before.”_

 

_“Maybe I hid this because of how I knew how you all would react!”_

_“Not trying very hard to hide it if you’re kissing guys in broad fucking daylight!”_

 

_“We were in a private area and you were fucking spying on me-”_

 

_“Because I knew you were hiding something-”_

_“And you ratted me out to our parents-”_

_“Because they deserved to know what their precious first born was!”_

_“Really, John? Did you do this because of some petty, second son emotions?” David asked as he stared in eyes that were so similar to his but filled with so much hatred it made him sick. “This isn’t some fucking game or a stupid school competition:_ they’re kicking me out! _I’m on my own!”_

_“Good,” he said coldly while Annie wailed in the distance. “It’s what you deserve.”_

 

Webster let out a deep breath he hadn’t been aware that he had been holding and opened his eyes, finding the blue of the ocean instead of the blue of his brother’s eyes. The anger that had previously filled him had all but disappeared and was replaced by an almost crippling feeling of sadness and loneliness.

 

“God damn it,” David sighed before he brought his shaking hands to his face.

 

He felt tired, he felt sick, he felt like he was about to start crying any moment now, but most importantly, he felt alone. It was something he should be used to by now, what with spending his life in a family of people who didn’t really care, attending schools with students who didn’t look to make friends but future connections for when they all went corporate, and then moving to the other side of the country to live with people who he still didn’t feel like he intermingled with correctly. Webster was always alone, would always be alone.

 

“Hey… you alright?”

 

David moved his hands away from his eyes but didn’t turn around. He didn’t want to turn around and find that he had imagined the voice and prove to himself that he was actually going crazy.

 

“David, are you okay?”

 

He turned around with wide eyes to find Joe standing a couple feet away, looking more nervous and unsure than he had ever seen him before but Webster could also see determination in his eyes that David knew well.

 

“…did you just call me ‘David’?”

 

Webster was always alone, would always be alone, until someone special came into his life and made sure he never was again.

 

* * *

 

“Lew.”

 

“Hmmm?”

 

“Lew, your phone’s ringing,” Dick mumbled as he cracked an eye and stared at where his boyfriend’s phone was buzzing against the wood of his nightstand.

 

“Can’t reach,” Nixon sighed against his chest as he curled tighter around Dick instead of waking up. “You answer it.”

 

The two of them had been enjoying a rather peaceful midafternoon nap on Dick’s bed. Dick’s father was at work until late, his mother was out meeting some women she knew from church, and his little sister was spending the night at one of her friend’s houses. They had decided to take the opportunity of an empty house and use it wisely, but still safely in case someone decided to come home early.

 

Wanting to roll his eyes but found himself smiling instead, Dick reached out and answered Nixon’s cell phone before it stopped ringing.

 

“Hello?”

 

“ _Hello_ ,” said an older woman’s voice. “ _Is Lewis there?”_

 

“Yeah, one second,” Dick said with a smile as he stared down at the dark head that rested on his chest and held out the phone. “Lew. Talk. I know you can.”

 

Grumbling, Nixon reached out blindly for the phone and waited until Dick place it in his hand before he answered with a gruff hello.

 

“Lewis.”

 

Nixon had been close to falling asleep a moment before but once he heard the familiar voice his eyes sprung open, not sure why the hell she was talking to him.

 

“Mom?” Nixon asked in confusion while Dick gave him a look of equal confusion.

 

“ _Hello, Lewis,”_ she said in her usual calm tone of voice. “ _How have you been?”_

 

“I’m… I’m fine, mom,” he answered slowly as he sat up, feeling groggy and extremely confused.

 

_“Where are you staying?”_

 

“I’m staying with Dick and his family,” Nixon answered while he exchanged another confused glance with Dick. “Not to be rude but why are you calling? I thought I was exiled or something.”

 

 _“Those were you father’s words, not mine,”_ she said coolly. There was a long pause before she spoke again. _“I left your father, Lewis.”_

 

“You _what?_ ”

 

“ _Yes._ ”

 

“Why?” he asked while Dick looked at him with wide eyes, more confused than ever since he only got half of a conversation.

 

“ _You’re seriously asking why?”_

 

“Um, yeah, I’m kinda confused here. I thought you agreed with him on all that bullshit.”

 

 _“Lewis I…_ ” she started, sounding hurt. “ _I would_ never _want to exile you from the family just because you didn’t want to be like your father. Sure, I would have liked if you stayed at Yale and stayed with the path your father set up for you but it’s not necessary. You weren’t happy there and you weren’t happy at the idea of becoming a lawyer. But I can tell, from the two phone calls I received all last semester and from what I saw of you before you started fighting with your father at Thanksgiving, that you’re happier at that school than you have in years. I won’t condemn you to a life on your own because of it_.”

 

“Are you serious, mom?” Lewis asked quietly, not quite believing what he was hearing.

 

 _“Yes I am_ ,” his mother said. “ _I sent the divorce papers the other day and it will take a while but we’ll be rid of him eventually. In the meantime I’m staying at Aunt Lisa’s in New York. I’m sure she wouldn’t have a problem with you staying here if I don’t manage to get my own place by summer.”_

 

“So… you’re divorcing dad,” Nix repeated while he looked at Dick, who raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You’re staying at Aunt Lisa’s and you’re doing all this because he wanted to kick me out of the family?”

 

“… _of course I am. You are my child. You’re more important to me than anything else in the world,_ ” she said in a quiet but firm tone that Nixon knew too well. “ _You’re a human being with your own dreams and desires and I’m sorry that I ever tried to get you to do what you father wanted. You’re a smart kid. You can make your own decisions. I trust you.”_

 

“Thanks, mom,” Nixon said quietly.

 

 _“I’ll call you again later. I have an appointment with my lawyer soon and I need to get going. I just wanted to make sure you knew,”_ she sighed. _“Had to make sure you knew before you got yourself into some harebrained scheme to raise money for school. I_ am _going to pay for your school by the way. But you have to promise me you keep your grades up.”_

“Of course. No problem,” he said, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted off of his chest.

 

_“Well, goodbye, Lewis. I love you.”_

 

“Love you too, Mom.”

 

* * *

 

“Yeah I called you David. So the fuck what? That’s your name isn’t it?” Joe asked with a growl, scowling. David watched as the scowl slowly slipped from his face and was replaced by a concerned expression. “Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fucking perfect, Joe,” David answered.

 

Webster watched as Joe rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath before he shook his head and sat down next to him on the sand. Joe was quiet for a moment or two before he spoke.

 

“Who were you talking to?”

 

“Originally? My little sister, Annie,” David answered as he dragged his fingers through the sand. “But the person I was screaming at? My dad. He wasn’t too happy about me talking to my sister. Something about me being an _abomination_ or _spreading my disease_ to her or something.”

 

“Shit,” Joe said. “You serious?”

 

“Yup,” David said. “He’s probably already blocked my number on Annie’s phone or changed her number or something so I can’t talk to her again.”

 

“That’s… shit, Web, I don’t…” Joe stuttered before he scowled and turned away from Webster to glare at the ocean. “You don’t deserve that shit, Web, no one does, but especially not you. Only the worst kind of people deserve that kind of bullshit and you’re way too good for people like that to be ruining your life.”

 

“You know what, Joe? Sometimes the way you talk to me I think that you might actually like me,” David said with a pained smile. “If you keep this shit up it’s gonna be impossible for your sisters to not think we like each other.”

 

David let out a tiny chuckle but when Liebgott stayed silent he turned to look at his friend and found Joe staring at him with a strained expression on his face.

 

“What?” David asked. “It was just a joke, Lieb, I’m-”

 

“Web, you remember that time after midterms when I came up to you in the food hall and you asked me why I bothered you so much compared to other people?” Joe asked in a serious tone.

 

“Yeah, I guess,” Webster muttered while he thought back to that day when Joe had made him flustered in the middle of the food hall. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

 

Joe suddenly let out a frustrated growl and turned away from Web while he bared his teeth to the sea. David watched him while he tensed up, ready to fight if needed.

 

“Damn it, Web, I thought you were fucking smart,” Joe growled with a sneer of a smile on his face. “Should have known better. But hey, I though saying it to your face would have been obvious enough but clearly you’re so dense you need me to hire a skywriter to write it in the clouds for you.”

 

“What the hell are you talking about, Joe?” Webster snapped.

 

“I fucking like you, dumbass!” Joe growled as he stared at David, looking severely annoyed while a pale blush crawled up his face. “ _Jesus Christ_ , I thought kids who got into fucking Harvard were supposed to be fucking smart or something but apparently not because I’ve told you twice to your face that I like you and all you’ve done both times is stare at me like a damn goldfish out of water. Clearly you got in based off of your looks or something.”

 

David couldn’t believe it. It was hard enough to think that Joe’s sisters hadn’t been teasing but had been trying to play fucking match maker with the two of them. It was damn near impossible to think of the guy who teased him to almost the point of harassment and bickered with more than they talked civilly liked him like that. He thought of his conversation with Joe’s sisters on Christmas and how they had pointed out that David hadn’t denied liking Joe back.

 

Did he like Joe? At first, Web thought it was crazy that he would like Joe like that. He and Joe argued like enemies at times and on more than a few occasions he had been sure that he hated the guy. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that that was just Joe. He yelled at everyone and argued with anything; if spending their winter break with Joe’s family had taught him anything it was that Joe argued with no body more than the people he seemed to like the most. When he looked beyond the arguing and roughness, David thought of how he had talked to him when he was upset after Thanksgiving, made sure he wasn’t running himself ragged during finals, and then dragged him to his house for the holidays when he knew David would be spending his alone.

 

In all the times David had needed someone in the last couple of months, Joe Liebgott had been there.

 

“Okay well, since you don’t seem to be on some suicidal mission to swim out to sea and I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one day, I’m gonna head on back home,” Liebgott said as he slowly got up from the ground.

 

“Joe, wait,” David called after him as he started to walk away. Joe stopped walking but didn’t return to his seat next to David. “I just have a question. Then you can go.”

 

“What is it, Web?” he sighed.

 

“How did you find me here?” he asked slowly as he got up from the sandy beach. “I mean, I wasn’t here for long… how did you find me so quickly?”

 

“I fucking followed after you,” Joe shrugged.

 

“Really?” David asked in mild surprise as he took a couple steps toward Joe.

 

“Yeah. Figured your dumbass would get hit by a car or lost or something,” Liebgott answered with a frown. “I knew you didn’t have your cell phone either so I knew when you finally stopped running you’d be lost in Frisco with no way of contacting me; thought it’d be easier to chase you down than get a call from the police about a little lost boy looking for me. But damn did you make it hard to chase after you; you on the track team or something in High School, Web?”

 

“I was on the soccer team,” Webster answered while a smile pulled at his face, his mind busy imagining Joe running after him down the streets of San Francisco; they probably made quite the sight. “Parents made me drop it when it got in the way of my studies.”

 

“Of course they did,” Joe muttered. “You wanna ask something else or can I go now?”

 

“One more thing,” David nodded as he took one last step toward Joe, their face now only a couple of inches apart. He felt his heart begin to thud against his chest and he still felt extremely upset from before but he somehow found himself smiling brightly at the young man before him. “Joe… did you really have a lit class last semester that you needed help with or were you just fucking with me so you could talk to me more?”

 

It was impossible for Joe to fight the devilish smile that came to his face and it made David’s heart beat faster; he didn’t think he had ever seen a better smile before.

 

“Now why would I ever do something like that?” Joe asked, completely failing to sound innocent through the smile that threatened to split his face in two.

 

“You’re an asshole,” he huffed.

 

Before Liebgott could agree or deny the statement, David moved forward and kissed Joe, feeling happier than he had in a while.

 

* * *

 

“You sure you can’t stay for New Year’s?”

 

Lipton watched from the doorway as Andy paused in the middle of packing his bag and turned to look at him. He and Eddie had decided to stay two nights at the Lipton’s boarding house even though their car had been fixed after a day. It had been fun having the two boys over for a little bit; they had ran around town some more, relaxed at home, and Andy and Eddie had allowed Lipton’s mother to ask them about fifty questions about her son and school and how they liked it at PCU. It made Lipton think of inviting some of the other boys from Hanks House over during the summer; perhaps not Ray Person or some of the rowdier boys but he was definitely open to the idea.

 

It was the day before New Year’s Eve and Andy and Eddie had declared that they really needed to get back on the road if they planned on making it back to school before the new semester started. Carwood was upset that they wouldn’t be there to celebrate New Year’s and even Ron seemed a little sad to see them go so early.

 

“We would love to stay but not only are we under some time constraints but we can’t possibly take advantage of your mother’s hospitality any longer,” Andy said with a smile. “We’ll have to pay her back for it someday.”

 

“It’s not like you got a grand hotel sweet,” Lipton muttered, knowing how his mother would reject any form of payment from his friends for the play to stay. “I mean you didn’t even each get your own bed; one of you had to sleep on the air mattress.”

 

“It’s not a problem, Lip,” Andy while he smiled a shy sort of smile. “Me and Eddie are used to sharing.”

 

“All packed up, Andy?”

 

Lipton turned around and found Eddie walking toward them; Ron had just borrowed his truck and drove Eddie into town to pick up their car from the mechanic in town. While Eddie entered the room to help Andy with the bags, Lipton turned to watch Ron walk towards him.

 

“Everything go okay at the mechanics then?” Lipton asked Ron.

 

“Yeah except they overcharged us for something me and my dad probably could have done for a third of the price,” Eddie grumbled as he picked up his bags from the ground. “Hell I probably could have done it but Haldane here wouldn’t trust me.”

 

“I trust you with my life, Eddie,” Andy said softly as Eddie straightened up with his bags in hand.

 

“Just not your car,” Eddie teased.

 

“You don’t mess with a man’s car,” Andy countered.

 

“I wouldn’t have been messing with it. Worst case scenario I would have put it out of its misery, knowing how you mistreat it,” Eddie teased.

 

“Alright well next time my car breaks down I’ll let you tinker with it.”

 

“Because there will be a next time,” Eddie said deadpan before he shouldered his bag and addressed Lipton. “Well, Lip, it was a pleasure staying with you and your lovely family.”

 

“Happy to help, Eddie,” he said. “Have a safe trip.”

 

“We should but if we’re not back in time for the start of the semester than you can assume Andy’s car just broke down again,” Eddie said while he shot a grin at Andy.

 

“Or we broke down and Eddie wrecked the car trying to fix it,” Andy added before he picked up his last bag. “Have a good rest of your vacation and have a happy New Year’s.”

 

“Thanks, you too.”

 

The past two days with Andy and Eddie had made the days go by faster than usual for Lipton but for whatever reason, time seemed to only go by faster when they were gone. Maybe it was the fact that their vacation was dwindling down to nothing and they would soon be forced back to studying, homework, and school related stress, he didn’t know, but before Carwood knew it, it was New Year’s Eve and he and Ron were stepping out of the house to watch the fireworks in the nearby field.

 

Ron carried several thick blankets in his arm for them to lie on and Carwood carried a bottle of champagne and two glasses that his mother had discretely shoved into his arms before they left the house. It was tradition for some of the people down the road to set off commercial grade fireworks as the ball dropped and the new year started, whether it was legal or not Carwood didn’t know, just that it was what always happened ever since he could remember. The two of them settled down in the field once they were far enough away that the house was no longer in sight. Ron opened the bottle, accidentally spraying the two of them with some of the bubbly and poured each of them a glass.

 

“Am I allowed to drink before midnight?” Lipton asked as he accepted the glass; he checked the time and saw it was ten minutes to midnight now.

 

“I don’t see why not,” Ron said before he gently tapped his glass against Carwood’s and raised it slightly. “To a new year.”

 

Carwood raised his slightly in a tiny toast before he took a sip of the bubbly liquid. He wasn’t a huge drinker but his champagne was alight, infinitely better than the Natty Light some of the boys back at the dorm drank.

 

For a while, the two just sat in peaceful silence while they stared up at the beautifully starry sky. Carwood could hear faint voices from the other people who had decided to watch the fireworks on the field but he couldn’t see them and it made him feel like it was just him and Ron.

 

Carwood checked his watch again: five minutes to midnight.

 

“You know, I’m really glad you invited me to stay with you,” Ron said quietly. “This was probably the best holiday I’ve ever had.”

 

“You were worked like a dog some days and you had to sleep on an air mattress,” Lipton reminded him.

 

“My statement still stands,” Ron said as he looked into Carwood’s eyes and smiled. “It was the best holiday I’ve ever had and, hell, it was all because of you.”

 

Carwood ducked his head and smiled. He grabbed his glass of champagne, drank it, and blamed the odd feeling he had in his stomach on the alcohol. Ron took the glass from his hands, fingers brushing against his for a moment, and refilled it. Carwood accepted the second glass and found himself thinking of Andy and what he had said when the four of them had gone to the river.

 

_“You’re special to him.”_

 

Carwood remembered how he had immediately wondered if Ron was special to him but he realized within moments of that slightly frantic thought that, yes, Ronald Speirs was very special to him, there wasn’t much questioning about it.

 

Carwood Lipton always prided himself on having a level head and very rarely made rash or impulsive moves that he later regretted. He knew he lived life on the safe side and he had never really had a thought of going against it, it was why he had initially planned on attending Marshall University and one day taking over the boarding house from his mother, until now.

 

Now, with Ron sitting so close to him, occasionally brushing his fingers against his own or bumping his shoulder against Carwood’s, now, with his body buzzing with champagne, now, with Ron looking at him with his deep green eyes and a warm smile on his face, now Carwood wanted to go against every safe thought he had ever had.

 

As time ticked down to midnight and the fireworks burst into the air with a beautiful array of colors and people all across the field shouted ‘Happy New Year’s’ to one another, Carwood closed the distance between the two of them and kissed Ron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ships are sailing folks. 
> 
> thanks for sticking with me because i'm awful with updates and am only an okay writer


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new semester doesn't start like anyone expected it to.
> 
> ****warnings for shooting and death****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to say that yes, I know I'm a piece of shit for not updating in literally forever. I'd also like to say that for about two months i had horrible writers block and couldn't work on this at all and wrote the last half of this in about two days. 
> 
> So yeah, sorry I suck a lot. Kinda hope there are still people who are reading this.

* * *

“Harry! How the hell are you?”

 

“Not now, Nix,” Harry said as he barely paused to toss his bags into his room and onto his bed before he was all but running down the hall.

 

“What the hell was that about?” Nix asked grumpily as he leaned against the door frame.

 

“Don’t worry, it’s not you,” Dick assured him as he walked into his open dorm room and began properly putting his belongings away. “Kitty already got back and I’m sure Harry’s dying to see her after the break.”

 

“Ahh, so they’re still a thing?” Nix asked in mild surprise.

 

“What were you ignoring all of Harry’s texts over break about how much he missed her and couldn’t wait to give her the present he bought her?” Dick asked as he paused in the middle of unpacking one of his bags.

 

“Nah, I blocked Harry’s number back around Thanksgiving when he started drunk texting me thinking I was Kitty,” Nixon informed him with a sigh. He was broken out of his thoughts of Harry and his drunken texts by a loud shout that sounded like pain from the other side of the hall. “Hey, Dick, I think you might want to get over there and make sure no one died.”

 

“It would make me look bad as an R.A. if someone died on my floor,” Dick sighed before he headed towards the source of the commotion.

 

            It was a loud day for the fifth floor when everyone was reunited once again for the start of the spring semester at Pacific Coast Academy. When Muck, Malarkey, and Penkala had all reunited it had been loud. When Perconte and Luz had reunited, it had been even louder and had almost sent poor Babe to the floor. But when Ray Person was seen tearing through the front doors of the building, followed by an irritated looking Brad Colbert, any hope of silence was thrown out the window. Dick knew that there was little to no hope in keeping order during the day and chose to stay out of the way while listening closely for any sounds of danger.

 

            With spirits high, Dick decided it would be best if the entire floor went to dinner together. Since almost everyone on the floor was desperate to talk about their vacations with each other there was little argument on the matter. The entire fifth floor descended upon the unsuspecting food hall, intent to gorge themselves on questionable food and exchange even more questionable holiday stories. With the help from Speirs and Lipton, four tables were pushed together so that the whole floor could sit together. It wasn’t long until the boys of the fifth floor returned to the massive table, loaded up with food and drink, grinning from ear to ear.

 

“So who want to go first?” Harry asked as soon as everyone had settled.

 

“What the fuck is this, story time?” Liebgott sneered.

 

“Well if you don’t want to go I can go for you,” Luz said from the other end of the table. “I’ve heard all about you and Web’s vacation together.”

 

“What the fuck, Web?” Joe groaned as he turned to stare at Webster. “What the fuck are you doing blabbing about our personal business online for?”

 

“I wasn’t blabbing!” Webster exclaimed. “I just changed my Facebook status-”

 

“Really? God damn that is so fucking cheesy, Web, I can’t-”

 

“I asked you if that was alright and you said yes so don’t get mad at me!”

 

 _“Hey, hey, hey!_ You mind keeping it down? Some of us are trying to eat and your marital spat is upsetting my appetite,” Toye shouted from half way down the table. “You guys keep this up I’m moving tables.”

 

“I’m with ya, Joe,” Guarnere nodded. “I got enough of that fighting bullshit over break.”

 

“What from you and Frannie?” Malarkey asked.

 

“No, from Babe and Julian!” Bill exclaimed, laughing at his own joke.

 

“Fuck off, Bill,” Julian yelled as he tossed a roll at Bill’s head.

 

“Trust me, Web and Liebgott have got nothing on how much you and Frannie argue,” Babe insisted. “Been dealing with that bullshit for years.”

 

“Okay, okay, let’s settle down, guys,” Dick said calmly but firmly before anyone else could cut in with a new jab. “I would like to hear about your breaks, if you can manage without us getting kicked out of here.”

 

“That’s asking an awful lot, don’t you think, Dick,” Nix said in a carrying whisper as he leaned across the table towards Dick. “That’s like asking Harry to go ten minutes without talking about Kitty.”

 

“Fuck you, Nix,” Harry said dryly. “You keep this up and I’m gonna ditch the table to go sit with Kitty.”

 

“Aw, come on, Welshie!” George cried. “Thought it was Bros before Hos!”

 

“Better not say that too loud, Luz,” Perconte said with a grin. “Lena Riggi ain’t far away and I don’t think she’d pass on writing you up for referring to her and her floor as ‘hos’.”

 

            Before George could respond, half of the food hall was alerted to a couple tables over, where Ray Person had suddenly broken out into song, which wouldn’t have been that surprising or out of the ordinary if it weren’t for the fact that he had neglected to swallow his mouthful of ravioli beforehand and was now spewing it down his front and onto those around him.

 

“Ah, man, that reminds me of what my sister Molly did over Christmas dinner!” Malarkey exclaimed before he began telling a story involving his four-year-old sister, a Christmas dinner, and projectile vomiting that the entire table laughing and cringing.

 

            After Malarkey’s story there were more stories from the break, how Lipton’s mother wanted to hire Speirs to work at the bed and breakfast, how Malarkey took a road trip over break to see Buck for his birthday and he could honestly say he could not remember the first twelve hours of the new year, how Shelton went home with Gene Roe for the break and how Gene’s grandmother thought he was ‘charming’, how Liebgott apparently had the noises four older sisters ever and they helped shove Joe and Web together, how Nixon met Dick’s family and he made it out alive, how George Luz was actually a decent cook and was basically a professional child wrangler, and how Skip’s girlfriend Faye had heard everything that happened first semester and was dying to meet everyone. Eventually it was time to get up and return to Hanks House but no one seemed keen on splitting up. So instead of everyone returning to their individual rooms, they gathered in room 506, put on a movie on Eugene and Sidney’s large, flat-screen television, and relaxed together, laughing and shouting and tossing handfuls of microwave popcorn at each other.

 

It seemed like a great time but Leckie didn’t think he could do it, so when everyone else was busy laughing at the antics of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, Leckie slipped out of the room and retreated to his own quiet room at the end of the hall. He didn’t even bother turning the light on when he entered and chose to collapse on top of his bed in the darkness while the sounds of laughter floated down the hallway.

 

He felt like shit. He wanted to sit with his friends and watch some shitty movie about thirty-year-old cops pretending to be high school students and eat popcorn and drink some of Nixon’s beers and throw food at each other’s heads when no one was looking but he just couldn’t.  Leckie had hardly made it through dinner; he ate quietly while everyone else shouted about their breaks and passed off his chance at holiday story time with some overly wordy and sarcastic comments that earned a couple of eye rolls. Maybe it was the fact that going from his home in New Jersey to Hanks House was a complete one-eighty, Leckie wasn’t sure. All he knew was that it was a bit like whiplash to go from weeks of an overly-polite, slightly neglectful atmosphere to one of such fun and comradery.

 

“Hey.”           

 

            Leckie jerked upwards into a sitting position and was just able to make out a dark outline standing in his doorway before he was blinded by the lights in his dorm room turning on.

 

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s fucking depressing to lay in your room in the dark while there’s a party going on down the hall?”

 

            Squinting against the offending light, Leckie was able to make out who had disturbed his peace.

 

“What the fuck do you want, Hoosier?”

 

            Hoosier smiled at him before he swaggered across the room and toward the window which he promptly shoved open before he propped himself on the windowsill and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Hoosier busied himself with lighting one and taking a couple of puffs from it before he spoke again.

 

“Well I can see you had a lovely holiday break,” Hoosier mumbled as his cigarette hung out of the corner of his mouth. “Seeing as you’re just oozing with happiness and holiday spirit.”

 

“Hoosier, if you’re not going to shut the fuck up and leave me alone the least you could do it offer me a smoke,” Leckie responded while he continued to glare at Hoosier who stayed annoying at ease. Hoosier continued to smirk at him for a moment before he leaned forward, holding out the crumpled pack of cigarettes. Leckie grabbed one and allowed Hoosier to light it for him before he spoke again. “So are you gonna tell my why you’re bugging me or are you just gonna sit there and continue using Web’s coffee mug as an ashtray?”

 

“I’ll clean out Web’s cup, don’t worry,” Hoosier said as he tapped a clump of ashes off of the end of his cigarette into Webster’s Big Apple coffee mug. “And ain’t I allowed to check up on a friend after not seeing them for almost a month?”

 

“… I’m fine, Bill,” Leckie said after a pause.

 

“Yeah and that’s why you were just lying in the dark instead of partaking in movie night,” Hoosier said.

 

“I’m tired. I’m still on East Coast time zone-”

 

“I saw you at dinner,” Hoosier cut Leckie off as he stared unfocused out the window. “I was a couple tables away with some guys from the fourth floor but I couldn’t help but notice, what with how loud your table was, how decidedly not into it you seemed.”

 

“What do you want from me, Hoosier?” Leckie asked dryly while he carelessly flicked his cigarette ashes onto the floor; Web would probably bitch later but he’d apologize for it then.

 

“I want to fucking know if you’re as fucked up as you were before you left for break,” Hoosier stated with a bite in his voice. He took one last puff of his cigarette before he flicked it out the window and hopped off of the windowsill. “But seeing as you’re damn near biting my head off when I’m not even trying to piss you off I can see you’re doing great.”

 

“Sorry,” Leckie apologized once Hoosier was at the door.

 

            Hoosier stopped and turned around before he leaned against the door frame. He didn’t say anything but pulled his almost empty pack of smokes out of his pocket and went about lighting another for himself.

 

“It’s alright,” Hoosier finally responded with an exhalation of cigarette smoke. “Sometimes you can’t help but be pissed after a good old’ dumping.”

 

“I don’t even think I’m mad at her for dumping me like that,” Leckie admitted slowly.

 

“You’re not?”

 

“No. Maybe a little. But for the most part I think I’ve gotten over it,” he said as he stared at the small burn he had made in the carpeting.

 

“Alright then why so blue?” Hoosier asked while he gave his cigarette a little wave, sending more ash onto the carpeting.

 

            Leckie didn’t answer right away. Instead he thought about dinner tonight with the fifth floor and how everyone seemed to be bursting to tell stories of holiday mishaps and heartwarming moments. There had only been a couple exchanges that had been less than pleased, mostly due to Joe bitching about his sisters, but any jabs at family members hadn’t seemed genuine or malicious; no matter what everyone still seemed to be happy to talk about the good times they had had with their family or their host family. Sure, not everyone had a good family to go to but those who were lacking in that department had managed to find a decent family to latch onto for the holiday season: Shelton had gone home with Roe, Liebgott rescued Web and took him to San Francisco, Speirs was now a highly desired employee at the Lipton’s bed and breakfast, and Winters’ family had given Nix the okay to keep dating Dick.

 

            Leckie meanwhile had been left to suffer in silence with his family all by himself. For almost a month Leckie had to deal with his father’s apathetic ramblings and his mother’s quiet comments and his sibling’s blank stares and overly polite ways of speaking to him, always desperate to keep all of his feathers unruffled. What he wouldn’t do to have one of his siblings shove gum in each other’s hair like Luz’s did or to have his mother being warm and caring like Lipton’s mother or to have his siblings not give a shit if they were ruffling feathers because pissing him off was better than television like it happened in Liebgott’s house. Leckie thought of delicious food and laughter and warmth and happiness, he thought of Thanksgiving with Stella’s family and knew instantly why Stella breaking up with him so abruptly had temporarily shattered him.

 

            It hadn’t been because Stella had been The One or even that he loved her. He felt a bit of an asshole for thinking it but it was true, he hadn’t loved Stella and even though she had been amazing to hang out with, losing her hadn’t been the end of the world. What had fucked Leckie up though was the fact that when he lost Stella he lost her warm, caring, welcoming family, something he had never had, something he wasn’t sure he would ever have.

 

“Leckie.”

 

            Leckie looked up and almost forgot that Hoosier had been standing in the doorway, his second cigarette now smoked down to a bud.

 

“You gonna be okay or should I call Winters over here before you jump?” Hoosier asked as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

 

“No, I’m okay,” Leckie sighed before he gave his tired face a rough scrub from his hand. “My family just sucks all the energy out of me. I feel like shit.”

 

“Family’ll do that to you,” he drawled before he expertly flicked his second finished cigarette into the trashcan by the door. “Listen, I know you wanna be alone and sit in the dark while you listen to your Adele CD but if you wanna come walk to the gas station with me to grab another pack of smokes I promise I won’t ditch you.”

 

            Leckie looked up at Hoosier, lounging against the doorframe, cigarette burns littering the carpeting around him while he smirked at him from under a mass of uncombed dirty blond locks, and couldn’t help but smile.

 

“How can I refuse an offer like that?” Leckie asked sarcastically as smacked his bed for emphasis.

 

“Once in a lifetime offer here. You can’t pass it up.”

 

“Right, Bill,” he smiled as he got up from the bed and walked to the doorway. “Because you’re never gonna buy another pack of smokes with the way you burn through them.”

 

“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to buy more another time,” Hoosier said as they walked down the deserted hallway together, passing the very loud room 506. “But who the fuck knows if I’m ever gonna invite your ass to come with me again.”

 

“Fuck off,” Leckie grinned as he gave his friend a small shove which Hoosier returned.

 

“Love you too, Bobby.”

 

            Leckie wouldn’t say he was better, not yet, probably not by a longshot, but right now as he and Hoosier walked across campus to the dingy little gas station that sat just passed the edge of the campus, well, he knew someday soon he’d get there.

 

* * *

 

            By the time the movie ended and the impromptu game of Rock Band had finished and the majority of the fifth floor poured out of room 506, it was late. Lipton rubbed his eyes and yawned while he slowly pushed himself off of the floor. He glanced around and noticed that a couple people from the floor were too beat to even get up and walk down the hall to their room and instead chose to camp out on the floor for the night. Lipton stepped out into the hall and took a step toward his dorm room next door when a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him.

 

“Hey.”

 

            Lipton turned around and found Ron standing behind him with a subtle smile on his face and warm look in his eyes.

 

“Hey yourself,” Carwood responded with a grin. “Missed you at movie night.”

 

“Sorry, it’s not exactly my thing,” Ron apologized while he slipped his hand from Lipton’s shoulder to his waist.

 

“It’s okay,” he said quietly, glancing down at Ron’s hand, resting on his hip.

 

“… is this okay?” Ron asked in an almost hesitant and totally not-Ron tone of voice.

 

“Hmm?” Carwood asked, confused.

 

“This,” Ron said as he gave Carwood’s side a gentle squeeze. “Out here in the open. Are you okay with that?”

 

“Ron, I’m the one who kissed you first,” Carwood reminded him while he leaned into the touch.

 

“That was when we were alone though,” Ron reminded him, leaning in close to the other man. “I just want to make sure I know where we stand. I wouldn’t…I wouldn’t want to upset you because I misinterpreted what this was.”

 

“Ron,” Carwood said softly before he tilted his head upwards and kissed him softly while he ignored someone behind them who made a noise of surprise. He honestly didn’t care and he was pretty sure no one on the floor would really care either. “It’s okay.”

 

“Well then, would you like to stay in my room tonight? Harry’s crashing in Kitty’s room so Nix is staying with Dick. I’ve got a whole room to myself.”

 

“Are you afraid to sleep by yourself?” Lipton teased.

 

“No. Just used to sleeping with someone after living in the dorms and after sharing a room with you over break,” Ron added with a knowing smirk; Carwood couldn’t help but think about the last couple of days after break and how the air mattress Ron had been using was pushed to the side, unused. “So what do you say?”

 

“I say give me a minute to change my clothes and brush my teeth,” Carwood responded.

 

“See you in a bit,” Ron agreed before he leaned down and kissed Carwood gently.

 

            Carwood turned around and was headed for his own room when he almost ran smack-dab into George Luz.

 

“Sorry, George,” Lipton apologized. “Didn’t see you there.”

 

“Yeah well, you did seem a little preoccupied with more important activities,” Luz smirked before he clapped Lipton on his shoulder. “Ah well, you two crazy kids have fun and remember to always use protection.”

 

“Thanks, George,” Lipton sighed with a smile while he tried to ignore the blush that crept up his face. “I’ll remember that.”

 

“Just looking out for you, buddy. Here those pregnancy scares are a bitch.”

 

            Lipton shook his head and watched as Luz scurried down the hall and disappeared into a room before he turned back around and headed for his room, feeling happier than he had in a long time.

 

* * *

 

            “Now this is what I missed about school!” Skip declared as he walked down into the common room and found the majority of the building down there with a party in full swing.

 

“Nothing actually school related, right?” Penkala teased him as he stopped next to Skip.

 

“Oh like you’re all ready to start hitting the books again?”

 

“As long as they don’t hit back,” Penkala joked.

 

“Yeah well, no promises. Remember what happened with Ray Person and Walt Hasser during midterms last semester?”

 

“I remember Walt’s face having an imprint of the front cover of A History of Art for about a week.”

 

“Probably the only thing that could make that boys face prettier.”

 

“Are you planning on leaving Faye for Hasser?” asked a bright voice from behind them; the two boy turned and found Malarkey walking toward them, drink in hand and a mile wide grin on his face.

 

“Malarkey, how the hell are you, my favorite ginger degenerate?” Skip exclaimed before he reached out and stole Malarkey’s drink.

 

“Hey man, get your own!”

 

“I thought friends shared.”

 

“Some things maybe but not herpes, I don’t know where your mouth has been,” Malarkey countered.

 

“Lucky you. I spent most of winter break seeing his mouth exclusively all over Faye,” Penkala groused.

 

“You _chose_ to hang out with us, that’s on you,” Skip reminded him.

 

“Okay, okay enough of your marital spats,” Malarkey said before Alex could reply. “Buck’s waiting at the air hockey table and he wants to do a tournament, you guys in?”

 

“Only if you’re okay with losing,” Alex said cockily.

 

“Well if you’re so cocky put your money where your mouth is; Buck’s looking to make bet.”

 

“I never turn down the chance to rob my friends of their pocket money,” Penk grinned. “Let’s go.”

 

            Spring Semester classes would start tomorrow and in a move that was probably not the brightest, the four R.A.’s decided it would be best to spend the last day of freedom together in the form of a barely legal party in the common room of Hanks House. Dick and Andy had been all for it and Lena had only needed a little convincing with promises that it wouldn’t run too late, seeing as she had to be up rather early the next morning for ROTC, but Brad had been adamant against it. It had taken a good hour, where the other three R.A.’s promised they would stay to supervise the party for as long as it went and that they would have they eyes open for any funny business, before Brad relented and agreed to the party. Now Brad stood to the side of the common room, blue eyes sharp as they scanned the crowded room.

 

“He’s kinda scary, don’t you think?” Kitty asked Lena as paused in the middle of loading a plate full of food to glance at the Iceman.

 

“Brad? He’s not nearly as scary as he wants you to think he is,” Lena snorted. “You should see when Ray Person decides to use him as a Jungle Jim.”

 

“Now that is something that I’d like to see,” Kitty said before she gestured over her shoulder. “Wanna come sit with us? Florence dragged her boyfriend down here for a bit and Harry ran off somewhere but he’ll be back soon. So maybe you should come sit down before he comes back,” Kitty added with a grin.

 

“I’d love to, Kitty, but I have to go watch the other side of the party for a bit or Brad’s gonna shut this party down,” Lena apologized.

 

“Wow, he is a serious buzz kill,” Kitty sighed.

 

“First thing, Harry’s rubbing off on you,” Lena said, causing her best friend to smile guiltily. “Second thing, last time there was an unmonitored party Ray Person and his merry bunch of misfits took over the roof which could have gotten all of us in serious trouble.”

 

“Just tell them next time to throw a party away from the dorm,” Kitty suggested before she left to go sit with her friend Florence and her boyfriend Burgin from the fourth floor.

 

            With a smile and a shake of her head Lena turned around and returned to her designated post for the time being. When she reached her spot she found Andy leaning against the wall with his good friend and roommate Eddie standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

 

“Hello, boys,” Lena greeted them.

 

“Hey, Lena,” Andy smiled.

 

“Howdy,” Eddie grinned with a tip of an imaginary hat.

 

“How does everything look?” Lena asked before she dug into her piece of pizza.

 

“Compton, Muck, Malarkey, and Penkala started quite the air hockey tournament,” Andy said as he gestured over to the corner of the room where several people were shouting as plastic crashed against plastic. “They’ve turned it into a bit of bet. Fun to watch.”

 

“Babe just lost twenty bucks to Buck,” Eddie chimed in. “Bucks been the undefeated champion of the night.”

 

“Everything seem under control?” Lena asked.

 

“As under control as I think this group of kids could ever be,” Andy answered, smiling as he watched Chuckler collapse onto the floor in defeat while Walt Hasser raised his arms in victory, grinning from ear to ear.

 

“They’re good kids. Most of them at least,” Lena added while she could just barely make out the echoing sounds of Ray Person singing from inside the bathroom.

 

“You think Colbert overreacted?” Eddie asked. “Having you guys play security guards all day?”

 

“No,” Lena and Andy said together, smiles forming on their faces.

 

“Look at how much chaos they’re creating while we’re keeping an eye on them,” Lena smirked. “I’d hate to imagine what this would look like if we weren’t watching.”

 

“You don’t need to imagine,” Andy reminded her. “We’ve seen the end result of it before.”

 

            Their conversation ended abruptly when someone shrieked loudly near the air hockey table. When Lena managed to make her way through the crowd she found Babe Heffron on the floor while he clutched at his bloody face. To the side of Babe was the air hockey puck.

 

“Jeez, I’m sorry, Babe,” Jay apologized while he kneeled down next to Babe. “I don’t know how that happened.”

 

“It happened because clearly you’re the worst air hockey player in this place, Jay,” Shelton drawled with a shake of his head. Shelton looked away from the scene for a moment before a small smile came to his face. “Not to worry, Heffron. Doc’s on the way over here.”

 

“What?” Babe asked through his hand and the blood that rushed out of his nose.

 

“Coming through,” Gene Roe’s voice sounded from a couple feet away before he broke through the crowd, first aid kit in hand. Gene stared down at Babe for a moment before he shook his head and crouched down next to Babe. “Shoulda known. Been here more than a day, of course you’d get banged up.”

 

“It wasn’ my fault!” Babe grumbled as he pulled his bloody hand away from his face. “Jay hit me in the face.”

 

“Okay, okay, let’s not play the blame game and get you fixed up,” Gene smiled before placed a gentle hand under Babe’s chin and inspected Babe’s nose.

 

            Between Gene’s gentle grip on his face and their close proximity, Babe found it completely impossible to not blush but he prayed it was hidden underneath all the blood. While Gene inspected his nose, Babe tried his best to look anywhere that wasn’t Gene’s face or his deep blue eyes for he knew it’d just make things worse. Unfortunately when Babe looked over Gene’s shoulder he found Bill standing behind Gene with a large, knowing smirk stretched across his face.

 

 _Shit,_ Babe thought while he dropped his head.

 

“Lucky you, Babe,” Gene said, interrupting Babe’s embarrassment. “Your nose ain’t broken but you’re gonna have one hell of a bruise.”

 

“Used to bruises, Gene,” Babe smirked.

 

“How about we get you washed up?” Gene suggested before he helped Babe up onto his feet. “Come on.”

 

            Still blushing and feeling flustered, Babe allowed Gene to lead him to the bathroom by the gentle grip on his forearm. Babe scowled when they passed a chuckling Bill who he knew would probably tease him later about his crush on the Doc. He would just have to deal with it whenever Bill got the opportunity to tease him; it was what best friends did to each other after all.

 

            Once in the bathroom Gene let go of Babe’s arm and busied himself with wetting a paper towel to clean up Babe’s face. Babe leaned against the wall and expected Gene to hand him the damp paper towel but was extremely surprised when Gene began gently wiping at his face.

 

“Ah! Gene! I can clean my own face up, ya know,” Babe exclaimed as he went to take a step back but found it impossible due to the wall behind him. “I’m not that hopeless.”

 

“I know you can clean your own face,” Gene said softly before he held out the paper towel to Babe.

 

            Almost reluctantly, Babe took the paper towel from Gene, fingers brushing in the exchange, and wiped at his sore face. Gene took half a step back and leaned against one of the bathroom sinks while he watched Babe. When Babe was done he tossed the soiled paper towel into the garbage and turned to face Gene. There was a long pause of awkward silence between the two of them before Babe shuffled over to him and leaned against the sink next to Gene.

 

“So, how was your break with Shelton?” Babe asked.

 

“Good,” Gene answered. “Better than Thanksgiving. It was quiet but nice. You?”

 

“Well anytime spent with Spina and Bill and Julian is bound to be loud,” Babe smiled. “It was nice to be back home for a while. We hung out with Bill’s girlfriend, Frannie, a lot. Bill doesn’t say it a lot but he really misses her.”

 

“Must be tough, being away from her,” Gene mused. “Couldn’t imagine.”

 

“What, you don’t have anyone waiting for you back home?” Babe joked while he felt like a nervous wreck inside.

 

“No. No one back home, Babe,” Gene answered. “You have anyone back home I gotta worry about?”

 

“Worry about?”

 

            Before Babe could really think about Roe’s question, the bathroom door opened and Bill, Julian, and Spina tumbled into the bathroom.

 

“There you are!” Julian cried, voice echoing against the white walls.

 

“Hey, Doc, how’s our boy doing?” Spina asked as he motioned to Babe’s face.

 

“Nothing broken,” Gene answered. “Doesn’t need stitches this time either.”

 

“Good thing Babes got such a thick skull!” Bill exclaimed before threw an arm around Babe’s shoulders and grinned at his best friend. “Now, Babe, what’cha doing hiding in the bathroom when there’s a perfectly good party going on ten feet away?”

 

“Also why are you chilling in this place that smells of piss and ball sweat when you could be somewhere that doesn’t smell like that?” Julian asked as he leaned against the hand dryer.

 

“We were just getting Babe cleaned up,” Roe answered as he took a step away from the sink and toward the door.

 

“Right, heard you got nailed in the face, Babe,” Julian grinned.

 

“The Doc’s given you a clean bill of health, right?” Spina asked as he glanced at Roe. “Let’s get back out there before the party gets shut down. I saw Ray Person sneaking off somewhere and I’m gonna go ahead and guess whatever he’s up to is gonna end the party.”

 

“Right,” Babe nodded.

 

“Well, I’ll be seeing you boys around,” Gene nodded before he slipped out of the bathroom.

 

“Okay so, I’m following the Doc’s plan and getting the hell out of her,” Julian said slowly after the bathroom door shut behind Roe. “You guys are free to have this little party in here but I’m leaving.”

 

            Julian slipped out of the bathroom, followed closely by Spina, which left Babe and Bill alone together. When the door shut behind Ralph, Bill turned and smirked at Babe, which made Babe scowl.

 

“Shut it, Bill,” Babe hissed as he pushed off from the sink.

 

“What? I wasn’t gonna say nothing!” Bill grinned. “What’s got you all upset, Babe?”

 

“You fucking know,” he said, ducking his head to hide his blush as he made his way toward the door.

 

“What? I think it’s cute!” Bill exclaimed as he followed Babe out of the bathroom.

 

“Fuck off, Bill.”

 

“Hey, did we interrupt something back there?” Bill persisted as he sped up his pace to keep up with Babe.

 

“Fucking Christ, Bill,” Babe groaned.

 

“What? Just wondering how serious you guys are. Gotta make sure I know who to blame if someone breaks your poor little heart.”

 

“You’re such an asshole,” Babe grumbled as Bill tossed an arm around him and tugged him close.

 

“Yeah but you love me.”

 

* * *

 

            “Hey.”

 

            Merriell turned around and found Eugene with smile on his face while he held a drink in each hand. Eugene held out one of the cups to him and he accepted it with a quiet ‘thank you’.

 

“Where have you been?” Eugene asked. “Been looking all over for you.”

 

“Ehh, I just got down here a little bit ago,” Merriell admitted. “I was over by the air hockey for a bit but then your buddy Babe got nailed in the face by Jay.”

 

“Is Babe okay?”

 

“Yeah he’s fine. Doc was over there in no time and cleaned him up.”

 

“That’s good,” Eugene smiled. “You wanna sit down somewhere?”

 

“Uh, sure,” he agreed quietly.

 

            Shelton allowed himself to be lead across the room to the far corner near the emergency exit. It was still loud but Merriell was able to hear Eugene if he were to talk at a normal volume. Shelton sat down next to Eugene on the bench and tried to focus on the hundred or so people running amuck in front of him instead of Eugene who sat so close to him that their shoulder brushed.

 

“Haven’t really gotten a chance to talk to you since we all got back,” Eugene said. “How was your break?”

 

“What’re you asking me for?” he asked. “You texted me almost every day. You know how it was: quiet.”

 

“Just trying to be polite, Mer,” Eugene said.

 

“Right,” Shelton sighed before he took a long drink from his cup. “How was your break? You and Phillips get up to any shenanigans you didn’t clue me in on?”

 

“No,” Eugene answered. “Sidney was away for half of break visiting some relatives in Florida. My brother stayed over with his wife and son for a couple days. Most exciting thing I did was babysit.”

 

“That sounds like an interesting picture,” Merriell smirked.

 

“Not as interesting as you doing a puzzle with Roe’s grandma,” Eugene grinned victoriously.

 

“What?” Shelton huffed with a frown.

 

“Don’t deny it. Roe told Babe and then Babe told me,” Eugene informed him.

 

“The three of you need something better to waste your time on than harassing me all damn day,” he grumbled.

 

“Don’t worry. I didn’t tell anyone you little secret.”

 

“How kind of you,” Merriell mumbled into his cup before he downed the rest of his drink.

 

            The two friends fell silent for a long moment. Merriell focused on a cluster of students who were playing pool on the other side of the room while Eugene watched as Bill Leyden from the third floor told a story to a cluster of guys that seemed to have them all rolling on the floor with laughter. It was nice, Merriell thought, as he sat there with Eugene. Sure, his knee was jumping up and down like he was about to get on a plan and he wasn’t quite sure what to say, but it was nice.

 

“So,” Eugene started quietly. “We still on for Friday?”

 

“If you’re still up to it than I am too,” he answered after a pause.

 

“Cool,” Eugene nodded before he turned and smiled at his friend. “Where you taking me?”

 

“I’m gonna take you to the nicest restaurant in town,” Shelton answered.

 

“Oh really?”

 

“Yeah and then I’m gonna dine and dash and leave you with the bill,” he smirked as he turned to face Eugene finally.

 

“How kind of you.”

 

“I don’t remember you saying I had to pay for this meal, just take you there,” Merriell grinned while he bumped his shoulder against Sledge.

 

“Well excuse me for thinking that if someone’s taking you on a date that they would pay for it too.”

 

“Yeah,” Merriell muttered while he felt his heart speed up at the word ‘date’. “You’re bad.”

 

            Eugene chuckled and dropped his gaze to the floor while Merriell continued to stare. He didn’t know why but he couldn’t look away even though he felt shaky and his heart wouldn’t settle down. Eugene bumped his knee against his before he looked back at Shelton. The place where Eugene’s knee bumped his felt hot, along with his face and his shoulder that was pressed against Eugene’s. He swore he was coming down with a fever or something.

 

* * *

 

            The party ran much later than the R.A.’s anticipated but it luckily ended on a good note. After the louder activities died down, the air hockey tournament ended and the Rock Band stopped and late-nineties/early-two-thousands music sing-along led by Ray Person was brought to a close after a rather off-tune rendition of ‘Teenage Dirtbag’, the remaining students sat down and relaxed while they talked and picked at the leftover food. Some students disappeared back upstairs, determined to get a good night’s sleep the night before classes started, others went for a walk, but a good chunk of the residents of Hanks House stayed in the common room, shooting the shit until the dark night sky faded to early morning grey and a few of the wiser students reminded everyone that they had classes to attend in a handful of hours. Yawning and grinning and with arms wrapped around each other, everyone returned upstairs to a bed that may or may not have actually been theirs before they passed out.

 

            Once the sun had fully risen, the first day of the new semester started off as normal as one could expect. Ray Person had to be dragged from his bed by Brad so that he would attend his nine o’clock lecture and Luz’s bitching could be heard all down the fifth floor hallways when Perconte’s alarm clock woke him up three hours before he had to be up. Students stumbled around campus while they tried to get into the swing of things again and a few people got lost on their way to a class. Nothing worrying, it was expected. Most of Wednesday evening was spent bitching about the sudden load of homework and stress everyone got hit with and Thursday was spent in a similar fashion. Friday, however, there was no way anyone could have predicted what Friday would ensue.

 

            Friday morning found Merriell still in bed fifteen minutes after his alarm had went off. He knew he should get up, would be late to his first class if he didn’t get up soon, but he couldn’t. Merriell was too preoccupied thinking about tonight to care about much of anything. Tonight he was taking Sledge out. He found a decent restaurant a couple blocks away from campus where they could eat and then maybe they could walk to the movie theater from there and catch a late movie. It seemed completely cheesy and overplayed but he had never been on a date before and was too prideful to ask anyone for ideas so Merriell went off of what he saw in movies.

 

“Planning on getting up anytime soon, Snaf?”

 

            Shelton turned his head and watched as Liebgott walked into the room and tossed his book bag onto the floor; he had just returned from his eight a.m. and looked mildly annoyed at the fact that he was still in bed.

 

“Maybe,” Merriell groaned as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. “Maybe I’ll just call it an early weekend and stay in.”

 

“Ehh, do it now before shit gets hard,” Joe mused as he sat down at his desk. “Smart move on your part.”

 

“What’s a smart move?”

 

            Joe and Merriell turned toward the doorway and found Webster leaning against the door frame, looking bundled up as if he were about to trek out into an artic storm instead of the brisk morning it actually was outside.

 

“It’s smart if Shelton decides to skip class today because third day of class, what are you really learning at this point?” Joe shrugged.

 

“The fundamentals of the course,” David said, sounding offended.

 

“Yeah well I think missing out on some basics that any monkey can figure out is better than missing out on a final review or some shit, Web.”

 

“The basics are the building blocks you need to understand the final,” Webster reiterated, looking annoyed. “And choosing to skip a class just because you wanna lie in bed? It’s like throwing your money away. You’re paying for the education so you might as well-”

 

“Okay but you know some days are completely pointless to attend,” Joe countered. “Some days are just filler days because professors have to teach a certain amount of days or whatever and they just give you some review sheet for brownie points-”

 

“It helps you in the long run, Joe-”

 

“Jesus fucking Christ, you win, Web,” Merriell exclaimed as he tossed the blankets off of his legs and got out of bed. “I’ll fucking go to class and never skip a day again as long as you take your damn marital spat out of my dorm room.”

 

“What are you doing over here anyways, Web?” Liebgott asked while his roommate got dressed.

 

“I was wondering if you wanted to go get breakfast with me,” Webster asked, sounding almost shy.

 

“Yeah, I could go for some grub,” Joe nodded as he got up from his desk. “Hell, maybe I’ll even pay for you.”

 

“You don’t have to pay for me I can pay for myself-”

 

“It’s called being a generous fucking person-”

 

“Oh my god,” Shelton groaned as he tugged a hoodie over his torso and jammed his feet into his tennis shoes. “Can we redo the roommate agreement so that we can keep your bickering out of the room?”

 

“Can it, Snafu,” Joe grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

 

“You two are a lovely couple,” Merriell said dryly as he picked up his backpack and made his way out of the dorm room, feeling tired, annoyed, and still a little worried about dinner with Eugene later.

 

* * *

 

            It was on the chilly side for weather in northern California and all Leckie really wanted was to finish with classes for the week and return to his warm bed back in Hanks House with a book or two and relax. With his head down in an attempt to get away from the wind, Leckie didn’t notice where he was going and accidentally bumped into someone going the opposite way on the sidewalk.

 

“Sorry,” Leckie apologized. He looked up at who he had run into and felt himself smile. “Vera. I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was-”

 

“It’s okay, Bob,” Vera smiled at him. “It was an accident. Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Right,” Leckie nodded. “How was your break?”

 

“Oh it was okay,” Vera answered. “Quiet. The most exciting thing that happened was my dad almost set the kitchen on fire trying to deep fry a turkey on Christmas but that’s about it. How about you?”

 

“I think it’s safe to say that your break sounds more exciting than mine,” Leckie answered. “No kitchen mishaps, no family arguments… probably as quiet as a break could be.”

 

“Well, after all the noise that goes on in Hanks House I’m sure you could do with some peace and quiet.”

 

“I guess you’re right,” Leckie smiled.

 

            Leckie opened his mouth and was about to ask if Vera would like to continue this conversation over lunch later but before he could a loud ringing noise followed by a series of cries in the distance cut him off.

 

“What was that?” Vera asked quietly, concern written across her face.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

* * *

 

            “Julian, a word of advice: try to be a little less obvious when you fall asleep in class,” Spina said as he, Julian, Babe, and Bill walked toward the quad on their way to lunch. “Maybe try to drool a little less or snore quieter. Professor Mendez was giving you the evil eye the entire time.”

 

“Can’t help it man,” Julian grinned. “Was up late last night.”

 

“Doing what, idiot?” Bill asked.

 

“Me, Ray, and Lilley had a Breaking Bad marathon in Luz and Perco’s room last night,” he answered. “Which turned into a Breaking Bad drinking game and I think I crawled into bed somewhere around three.”

 

“Uh, you crawled into _my_ bed somewhere around three, ya asshole,” Babe corrected him.

 

“And then you shoved me onto the floor,” Julian said. “You could have been a little bit nicer.”

 

“You smelled like a damn bar and you weight way more than you look,” Babe said dryly as he gave Julian’s shoulder a playful shove. “You’re lucky all I did was shove you out of my bed.”

 

“And here I had you pegged as a cuddler. Guess I was-”

****

_Bang! Bang!_

 

“What the fuck-?” Bill exclaimed as he stopped in his tracks.

 

“Sounded like a damn truck backfiring,” Babe muttered as he looked around the quad.

 

“Something explode?” Spina asked.

 

“That was no fucking explosion,” Bill growled.

 

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

 

“What the hell-?”

 

“We gotta get out of here,” Bill ordered in a serious tone.

 

“Why?”

 

“What’s going on, Bill-?”

 

“Get out of here!” Bill shouted as he gave Babe a shove in the opposite direction they were walking in.

 

“Bill-”

**  
**

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

 

_“Get down!”_

 

            Babe felt hands on his back and then he was face first in the grass and dirt. He wanted to get up and see what the commotion was about but he knew better than to go against Bill when he sounded so damn serious. It was a little scary. He felt a like a kid being told to shut their eyes by a parent so that they wouldn’t see something potentially scarring.

 

            Babe heard a terrified scream and then what felt like hours after he had hit the ground, but was probably only a couple of seconds, there was Bill’s hand grabbing the back of his jacket as he attempted to haul him up.

 

“We gotta get outta here,” Bill hissed while Babe scrambled to get up. “Stay low!”

 

“Bill what the fuck’s going on-?”

 

“Just keep moving, Babe,” Bill ordered.

 

            Babe managed to get back up onto his feet and began to move towards the edge of the quad where Bill was leading him but when the noises of chaos and commotion got louder and more frequent he couldn’t help but turn around.

 

            He wished he didn’t turn around.

 

            It looked like a scene from a horror movie or some shitty made-for-t.v. movie he would watch with the guys while they threw back a couple drinks on a Friday night back home in Philly. All around him people ran and scrambled away from the usually over-populated area while they screamed and cried things Babe’s ears couldn’t quite pick up. Babe blinked and realized that a handful of people stayed on the ground which confused him; it seemed like such a drastic contrast from all the people who didn’t seem to want to stop moving. It didn’t make sense.

 

“ _Babe!_ ” Julian shouted.

 

            Babe blinked and saw that Julian was now in front of him; he looked more terrified than Babe had ever seen him before.

 

“Don’t stop!” he yelled as he reached out and grabbed onto Babe’s arm. “Follow me!”

 

            Babe nodded and allowed his friends to push and lead him away from whatever the hell was happening behind them. They had almost reached the edge of the quad when he decided to look back once again, desperate to understand what the fuck was happening. The once congested green was now almost void of people except for those who had taken to the ground. It still didn’t make sense to him, at least, not until he saw one lone figure still standing as he held something in his hand. There was another loud noise and then the grip on his arm slackened. There was a thud and a cry and when Babe turned towards Julian he found that his friend was no longer standing and leading him away but lying on the ground, which was quickly turning from green to red thanks to all the blood that spilling out of his dear friend.

 

_“JULIAN!”_

 

* * *

 

            “What the hell is going on out there, Lip?” Luz asked over the crowd of people that were flooding into Hanks House.

 

“I don’t know…” Lipton said so quietly that George almost didn’t hear him. “But we gotta keep these people safe.”

 

            Luz nodded his head and continued to usher students and members of faculty into the overcrowded common room of Hanks House. He and Lipton had been on their way to lunch at the food hall next door when they first heard the noises. George hadn’t known what the noises were at first but when combined with the shouts of terror he heard soon after he knew it couldn’t have been good. Lipton knew though, had heard the sounds enough growing up near rural West Virginia; they were gunshots. Lipton had pulled him back to the dorm without a second thought and when a wave of frantic students came rushing off of the quad toward them, Lip and Luz held the doors open and ushered the fleeing students inside.

 

            When the last straggling student came through the doors, George and Carwood followed after them inside and took pleasure in the electronic click of the locks setting it behind them. Luz pressed his back against the cool metal and glass door and turned to his friend, feeling as if there was a knot in his throat.

 

“Lip… what do you think-”

 

“Don’t think about it, George,” Lipton said calmly. “Just… let’s just focus on keeping everyone here calm okay? Crowd this big could tear the place apart. Okay?”

 

“I got it, Lip,” George nodded.

 

“Yeah, boy,” Lipton nodded before he clapped Luz on the shoulder and headed for the distressed crowd.

 

            Luz remained at the door for a long moment while he tried to process just what had happened. He didn’t want to think about it but for whatever horrible, disgusting reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities. Who had gotten hurt? How badly people had been hurt? He couldn’t stop thinking about it. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t wake up from this horrible nightmare.

 

“Luz!” Lipton called out from someone inside the fray.

 

“Coming, Lip,” George called out.

 

            Ignoring the ‘no smoking’ signs and the handful of faculty members who stood huddled inside the common room, George reached into his pocket, pulled out a slightly crumpled pack of cigarettes and his trusty lighter, and lit one. If there ever were a time he desperately needed a smoke it was now.

 

* * *

 

            Everything was mess and that seemed to be a gross understatement.

 

            Everyone wanted desperately to know what had happened but no one dared leave to find out. People checked the news from their phones but nothing set in stone seemed to resonate. One source said it was a single shooter, another said there were three, one site said no confirmed deaths, another site said the death toll wouldn’t be released until families were notified.

 

No one really spoke.

 

            It was the most crowded anyone had seen Hanks House common room but it was strangely the quietest it had ever been before. Quiet whispering about possible news updates were punctuated with the occasional sob or cry. The suffocating silence was shattered momentarily by Gene Roe’s cell phone as it rang loudly across the quiet room. With fumbling fingers, he answered.

 

“Hello.”

 

_“He’s dead.”_

 

“B-Babe?” Gene asked as he quickly checked the caller I.D; it wasn’t Babe’s number or any number he recognized but he knew for sure that it was Babe’s voice, although hollow and broken.

 

 _“He’s dead, Gene,”_ Babe’s voice broke over the phone.

 

“W-who’s dead?” Gene asked as quietly as he could, well aware that all eyes were on him. “Babe? Talk to me.”

 

 _“Julian_ ,” Babe moaned loudly; he sounded like a wounded animal. _“Julian! He’s-he’s dead! Dead, Gene! What am I supposed to do…?”_

 

“Babe, where are you?” Gene asked as he stood up and began to make his way through the crowd and toward the door.

 

 _“Gene_ …” Babe cried quietly.

 

“Babe,” Gene said softly while he tried to squash down the feeling of someone squeezing his throat tightly. “Where are you? I’ll be there in a second. Just tell me-”

 

 _“Oh my god…”_ Babe moaned, voice shattering. “ _How am I supposed to tell his Ma?”_

 

“That ain’t your job, Babe,” Gene said as he waved away Lipton who stood by the door when he sent him a questioning look.

 

_“It’s all my fault! If it weren’t for me-!”_

 

“No it ain’t,” Gene said. “None of this is your fault. Now, Babe, where are you at?”

 

            There was a loud, heart retching sob on the other line and then a clatter. Gene called out again but when he finally got a respond it wasn’t Babe.

 

_“Hey, Doc.”_

 

            It was Bill but it didn’t sound like the Bill Guarnere Gene knew; his voice was shallow and quiet and shaking. He sounded like a scare little kid who was trying to be strong.

 

“Bill, where you guys at?”

 

 _“We’re at the hospital,”_ Bill answered, voice failing to stay strong. “ _Um, the one on fourth and Lane?”_

 

“Should I come? Or is that overstepping-”

 

 _“Doc,”_ Bill cut him off, sounding exhausted. _“Just get over here and fast okay? Babe needs you.”_

 

            Gene wasn’t sure how exactly he got to the hospital, he assumed he ran, maybe he managed to catch a bus at some point; it was all a blur really. All he knew was that one moment he was in the common room of Hanks House and the next he was walking through the automatic doors of the hospital.

 

“Doc!”

 

            Gene stopped and found Spina standing with his back against the wall. A he walked over to his friend he couldn’t help but notice that his friend didn’t look like himself. His face was grey and splotchy red in places, his eyes were rimmed red, and he looked like a shell of a man, one that would never be happy again. Roe embraced him quickly before he asked him where Babe was.

 

“I’ll take you to him,” Spina nodded before he began to walk out of the waiting room.

 

“What happened?” Gene asked quietly.

 

“We were walking across the quad, where it happened,” Spina answered him, voice shaking. “I don’t know. One second we were running, next Jules was on the ground and…” Ralph covered his mouth with a trembling hand before he forced out a deep breath; Gene couldn’t help but notice the tears that swam in his friend’s eyes. “But uh, Babe… Babe’s not doing so good. He’s, he’s fine… _physically_ , didn’t get hurt…”

 

            Spina stopped talking when they heard the cries and screams of a very familiar voice. Gene felt his gut twist up painfully at the pain he heard in Babe’s voice and took off down the hall. He found Bill and Babe outside the closed trauma ward doors; Bill struggled to keep Babe out in the hall while Babe fought to get inside the ward.

 

“Babe, ya gotta calm down!” Bill yelled, face red. “You can’t-”

 

“Don’t fucking tell me what I can’t do, Bill!” Babe wailed as he fought tooth and nail against his best friend’s tight grip. “We have to go in there! We can’t just leave him alone in there! He’s all alone-”

 

“We can’t go in there, idiot, the doors are fucking locked-”

 

 _“He would do it for us!”_ Babe screamed while tears ran down his face. “If he was _here?_ If he was-was _alive-?!”_

 

“But he’s not, Babe,” Bill said softly as silent tears ran down his own face. “Babe, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry but he’s not in there anymore. He’s gone.”

 

 _“Don’t you fucking say that!”_ Babe shouted with his face an inch away from Bill’s. “How could you say that?”

 

“Babe,” Gene spoke up as he took a couple steps closer to the two. Babe paused in his struggling to stare wide-eyed at him; Gene thought he looked like a caged animal. “Babe. Bill’s right. He ain’t in there. Not anymore.”

 

“No,” Babe moaned as all the fight seemed to drain out of his body. Gene took the rest of the remaining steps to get to Babe and placed a gentle hand on his back. Babe collapsed against the wall, his eyes downturned toward the green linoleum tiles. “He can’t… he has to…” Babe turned to look at Gene with bloodshot eyes. “Gene. _He was just here_.”

 

“I know,” Gene said soothingly.

 

            Babe shook his head before he slid his body slowly down the wall until he collapsed onto the ground. Bill let go of his friend’s arms, well aware of the fact that Babe wasn’t going anywhere soon. Gene sat down next to him and wrapped both of his arms around Babe’s shaking form.

 

“ _He was just here,”_ Babe whispered again.

 

            Not knowing what else to do, Gene tightened his grip around Babe. Babe rested his head on top of Gene’s shoulder and was frozen for a moment before he reciprocated and clutched frantically at Gene’s back.

 

“What am I supposed to do without him?” Babe cried into Gene’s neck. “How… how am I ever gonna go back home? Never gonna be able to look at his Ma again… what am I supposed to do?”

 

            Gene never thought of himself as someone who was good with his words. It had never bothered him too much before, figured there were plenty of people who had trouble with words that he never wished for the ability. However, now, curled up around Babe on the cold hospital floor while Babe sobbed uncontrollably into his neck, desperate for answers, he wished he had something good to say.

 

* * *

 

            It was hours before Merriell managed to get back to Hanks House. The campus had been on lock down until the authorities were completely sure all possible threats had been eliminated and that meant that Merriell spent the past four hours trapped inside the science building on the opposite side of campus. He texted people if he could; Merriell told himself that it was because it took away his boredom but really he knew it was because he wanted to know who could respond, who was able bodied enough to respond. Some responded, others didn’t. Shelton told himself not to worry; he knew that parts of campus had next to no cell reception and peoples phones probably died or maybe they dropped them in all the commotion. He was able to tell himself these things for almost everyone who didn’t respond except for one person.

 

            Eugene.

 

            Eugene wouldn’t pick up, wouldn’t answer his texts, nothing. Worst of all no one else seemed to know where Eugene was. The couple of people he had managed to get a hold of informed him of a number of people who were okay but didn’t have a working phone on them but not a single one of them knew where Eugene was or where he had been when the shooting happened. It drove him crazy.

 

“Snaf!”

 

            Merriell stopped after he had entered the crowded common room of Hanks House and found his friend Burgie, looking unharmed and only a little shaken, with his arm around a pretty girl he was sure was his girlfriend from the second floor. Shelton made his way over to them.

 

“Good to see you, Snafu,” Burgie said as he clapped him on the back.

 

“Burgie, have you seen Sledge anywhere?” he asked while he tried to shove down the panic he felt rising inside of him. “I haven’t heard anything on him and he won’t answer his damn phone.”

 

“Sorry, man. Haven’t heard a thing.”

 

“Damn it,” Shelton cursed.

 

            Merriell walked around from Burgie and headed into the crowd where he asked everyone if anyone had heard from Eugene recently. No one seemed to have an answer and by the time he reached the edge of the room, he felt frantic while worst case scenarios ran through his brain. He was about to head upstairs and see if there was anyone in their rooms who might know something when he was stopped.

 

“Hey, Shelton,” Leckie called out to him before he headed up the stairs. “You looking for Sledge, right?”

 

“Yeah, you heard from him?”

 

“Heard from Phillips,” Leckie said. “Phillips told me he was at the hospital with Sledge-”

 

“Eugene’s in the hospital?” Merriell exclaimed as his heart began to pound against his chest. “Is he okay? Did he tell you why he was there?”

 

“I tried but I think Sid’s phone died or something because he’s not answering anymore,” Leckie answered.

 

            Before Leckie could get another word in Merriell was already halfway to the door. Shelton sprinted across the eerily quiet campus and didn’t stop until he was forced to at a busy intersection a couple blocks away from campus. Eventually the light changed and he sprinted down the street toward the hospital. When he tore into the waiting room of the hospital he paused for only a second to take in the scene of chaos before he headed for the front desk where a harassed looking nurse stood.

 

“Hey, hey I’m looking for someone, you need to help me,” Snafu demanded.

 

“Son, you need to take a seat and wait your turn,” the nurse snapped. “Can’t you see this place? It’s a zoo-”

 

“I don’t give a fuck,” Shelton exclaimed loud enough to gain the attention of a passing nurse. “I just need you to point me in the right direction or I’ll go tearing through this place looking for him.”

 

“Son-”

 

“Don’t fucking call me ‘son’. Just tell me where Eugene Sledge is,” Merriell growled. “Is he here or not?”

 

“I’m sorry but I can’t-”

 

“ _Don’t_ tell me you _can’t_ ,” Merriell hissed as he clutched at the fake marble counter top. Merriell let out a deep breath and looked the annoyed nurse in the eyes while he felt desperation surge through him. “ _Please._ Please just, can’t you just look and tell me if the guys _okay_? Can’t you just give me a little peace of mind? People are _dead,_ lady. And I… I just gotta know. Please.”

 

            For a moment Merriell was sure that the woman was about to call security but instead she turned to his computer and began typing away.

 

“What was your friends name again?”

 

            A minute later Shelton was running down the hall while he ignored the looks he received from doctors, patients, and visitors. He didn’t care. All he cared about was getting to the Emergency Room where Eugene supposedly was. When he entered the room he found the place in a similar state as the waiting room. People were crying and talking loudly while doctors and nurses ran about. Merriell scanned the room twice before he zeroed in on one bed, half surrounded by a white sheet hanging from the ceiling. From where he stood he could see a person with red hair on the bed and a pair of sneakers standing next to the bed, sneakers he had seen a number of times kicked up on a desk  or tossed on the floor whenever he visited Eugene’s room. He headed over and somehow refrained from tearing the white curtain out of the ceiling.

 

“Eugene!”

 

            Eugene looked up at him from where he laid on the bed, eyes and mouth wide open in shock but otherwise he looked fine. Sidney stared at him and said something to him that he didn’t really hear; he didn’t care what the guy had to say, not when there was definite proof right in front of him that Eugene was alive.

 

“Eugene,” Merriell said again, quieter this time, like a sigh of relief.

 

“Mer,” Eugene said as he sat up in bed. “What… what are you doing here?”

 

“I could ask you the same damn question.”

 

“Um,” Sidney spoke up awkwardly. “I’m gonna go get a soda… be back in a second.”

 

            Eugene waited until his friend had disappeared through the Emergency Room doors before he looked back at him.

 

“How did you find out I was here?” Eugene asked.

 

“Leckie,” he answered. “Leckie told me that Sid said you two were at the hospital. He said that Sid didn’t say why you were here so…”

 

“So you, what, ran over here?” Eugene asked with a hint of a smile that made Merriell frown.

 

“Don’t you fucking laugh, Sledge, I thought you were fucking _dead_ ,” Shelton growled while his body shook uncontrollably. “You weren’t answering your fucking phone! No one knew where you were! I hear that people got _shot?_ And no one knows where you are? And then Leckie tells me that you’re at the damn hospital? What the fuck was I supposed to do?”

 

“Mer, Mer, calm down,” Eugene hushed as he reached out and grabbed onto his friends quivering hand. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you. I forgot my phone in my dorm this morning and Sidney’s phone died and I just got admitted and once I got settled in I was gonna have Sidney call around and let people know I was okay… I’m sorry.”

 

            Merriell nodded, while he felt completely overwhelmed with the combination of fear for Eugene’s life and the immense joy and relief he felt after he learned that Eugene was apparently okay.

 

“Okay. You’re okay but then why are you in a damn hospital bed?”

 

“It’s… I’m fine. Or I will be in a little bit,” Eugene started out lamely. “I’ve been meaning to tell you, but… I have this condition.”

 

“What kind of condition?” Shelton demanded.

 

“Mer, why don’t you sit down and I’ll tell you, okay?”

 

            Merriell glared at him for a moment before he sighed and collapsed into the hard plastic chair that was set up next to the hospital bed, hand still gripping Eugene’s tightly like it was a lifeline.

 

“A heart condition,” Eugene answered. “It’s not that bad. I’ve had it my entire life and I usually have it under control but today, I guess everything just put a strain on it and I had an attack.”

 

“An attack?” Merriell asked weakly while he struggled to put the pieces together. “Like a _heart attack?”_

 

“Not quite. But my condition, it started to act up and usually if it happens I just take my medicine and I’m fine but today, in all the commotion, I couldn’t get to it quick enough,” Eugene answered. “Eventually Sidney was able to help me and get me my meds but by that time I wasn’t feeling so hot and Sidney thought it was best if I go to the hospital.”

 

“So… so you have a heart condition,” Merriell repeated slowly. “One you’ve had your whole life.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Sidney knows about it,” he said. “Anyone else?”

 

“No,” Eugene answered. “It’s not really the kind of thing I like to advertise. I tell people I have a heart condition and they start to think I could drop dead at any moment. Bit of a mood killer.”

 

“Understandable,” he said quietly. “But you’re okay? You’re not lying to me to spare my feelings or something?”

 

“I’m fine, Mer, I promise,” Eugene reassured him. “I’m sure I’ll be less fine when my parents find out I’m in the hospital because of it; they were pretty adamant about me going to school so far away because it. I bet they’re already on a plane headed here.”

 

“Well I’ll make sure to tear out of here before they get here,” Merriell muttered.

 

“They aren’t that bad,” Eugene said as he leaned back in bed. Eugene stared up at the ceiling for a long moment before he spoke again. “Sorry.”

 

“’bout what?”

 

“Our date,” Eugene said with a small smile. “Think we’re gonna have to cancel.”

 

“What are you talking about? We got a nice date going right here,” Merriell teased while he somehow managed to smile. “Got conversation, we’re somewhere not on campus,” he gestured to the I.V. bag that hung next to Eugene’s bed, “you got food that’s not campus food.”

 

“Some date,” Eugene chuckled.

 

“I’m sure people have had worse first dates,” Shelton muttered with a red face as he stared down at their joined hands. “I’ll take you on a better one.”

 

“Promise?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

* * *

 

            Nixon was sure Hanks House had never been so quiet. He thought of all the times he was desperate for some peace and quiet but now, as he stared at the pained expressions and the muffled sound of sobs and comforting voices, he was desperate for noise. He sat on his bed in his dorm room with his now half-empty flask in hand. Dick was out somewhere, probably trying to do some sort of damage control or something important.

 

            Feeling incapable of sitting for much longer, Lew got up onto his wobbly legs and headed out into the hall. There were a handful of people milling about but no one stopped to chat. When Nixon rounded the corner he found a small crowd had formed outside of room 507, Babe and Julian’s room.

 

 _Or is it just Babe’s room now_ , he thought darkly as he took another large swig of the burning liquid.

 

            Nixon stopped a foot away from the small cluster of kids. There was Bill and Ralph Spina and Luz, all solemn faced and whispering quietly. Next to the three boys stood a tall pretty girl Nixon was sure lived on the second floor, René or something.

 

“Hey, Nix,” Bill said quietly when he saw him approach.

 

“How’s he doing?” he asked lamely while he held out the near empty flask to Bill; Bill accepted it and tossed back almost all of the remaining liquid.

 

“He’s locked himself inside,” Bill answered while he wiped at his mouth and handed Nixon the flask back.

 

“Is there any way to get inside?” Nixon asked; he saw Babe when they all but dragged him into the building and up to the fifth floor. He figured no one in that condition should be alone.

 

“The Doc’s in there with him,” Spina answered. “He’s watching over him for right now. “Doesn’t want anyone else in there right now.”

 

“Well, at least he’s not alone,” Nix mumbled before his attention was directed to the stairwell door; he turned at the noise of the door opening and watched as Dick walked towards them.

 

“Hey, boys,” Dick said quietly; Nix thought he sounded a thousand years old. “How’s… how’s Babe?”

 

“He doing as well as I think anyone in his situation could be doing,” Bill answered with a bit of a bite in his voice.

 

“Bill… Ralph,” Dick said quietly. “I’m sorry-”

 

“I know, Dick, I know what you want to say and I appreciate it,” Bill said firmly.  “But I think I’ve heard enough ‘I’m sorry’s today to last a damn lifetime and I think if I hear it one more damn time I’m gonna break something.”

 

“I understand,” Dick said apologetically.

 

“Words ain’t gonna bring our boy back,” Bill said gruffly, voice wobbling at the end.

 

“Just let me know if I can do anything for you,” Dick said before gave Bill and Ralph a firm squeeze on the shoulder. Dick let his hands slide off of their shoulders before he turned to Nix. “Lew?”

 

            Nixon nodded and followed Dick down the hall towards his empty dorm room; Nix didn’t know where Harry was but he figured he was a couple floors below them with Kitty. Dick paused to kick off his shoes before he collapsed on top of his bed and opened his arms, an invitation for Nix to join him. Lew copied Dick’s moves and toed off his shoes before he crawled into the tiny dorm bed and curled up in-between Dick’s arms.

 

“I’m gonna have to call his parents, Lew,” Dick said quietly into Nixon’s hair. “What the hell am I supposed to tell them?”

 

            For whatever reason while Nixon laid on top of Dick’s chest he couldn’t help but think back to old war movies he had watched with his father when he was younger. He thought of scenes where the commanding officer had to notify loved ones that their sons had died. Nix thought of how the men in the movies always seemed to say that the young men had died as heroes. Julian, however, was just a college kid, not a soldier. His death was a pointless byproduct of another head case with a weapon. There were no words anyone could say that would make this okay. It was a tragedy.

 

            Nixon ignored the craving he felt for another hit of his flask and instead gripped tighter onto Dick. After today he didn’t know if he would ever be able to let go of him.

 

* * *

 

            Babe couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t sleep, he didn’t think he could do anything anymore. What was the point? Julian was dead. Gone. Forever. The words felt like dull knives to his body but he couldn’t stop thinking them; Babe didn’t know if he would ever think of anything else ever again.

 

“He’s gone,” Babe whispered brokenly while tears rolled down his face; how his body still managed to produce tears was beyond him. “He’s gone and it’s all my fault.”

 

“It ain’t your fault, Babe,” Gene whispered into his hairline, lips brushing against his skin. “Don’t think that.”

 

“I wanted to come here,” Babe whimpered. “And they all wanted to come because I was going. They all wanted to come to watch out for me.”

 

“That doesn’t make it your fault,” Gene mumbled as he tightened his grip on Babe and pressed his dry lips to his forehead. “It’s gonna be okay.”

 

“No. It’s not,” Babe said firmly. “It’s never gonna be okay.”

 

            Babe closed his eyes and buried his face into Gene’s damp t-shirt; in the back of his mind he knew it damp because of his tears but he couldn’t think about that right now. He couldn’t think of much of anything right now. He couldn’t think about how for months all he had wanted was for him and Gene to be curled up in his bed together but now that they were he didn’t really care. He couldn’t think about Gene’s lips as they pressed against his skin or how his hands rubbed soothing circles into his back. He couldn’t think of how his two remaining best friends in the world had watched the good Doc hold him while he broke down into hysterics on the hospital floor. Babe couldn’t think of any of that. All he could focus on was Julian and how he looked with wide, terrified eyes while his life poured out of him and onto the ground. Now he was dead, gone forever, all because Babe wanted to go away for college and was so helpless his friends wouldn’t let him go alone.

 

            It was all Babe’s fault and no one would convince him otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said before, I suck. So I'm sorry about what happened in this chapter and I'd also like to apologize in advance for when I don't update in forever. 
> 
> Thanks for reading.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The residents of Hanks House go through one of the roughest weeks of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah i don't even know where to begin to apologize for this wait. Here's a super long chapter and thanks if you're still around and reading this.

* * *

The day after the shooting found Hanks House, as well as the rest of campus, filled with an unnatural and deafening silence. Classes were canceled and no one felt up for doing much of anything. Everyone in Hanks House just seemed to drift through the day. Some plopped down in the common room and didn’t move for hours, others stayed in their rooms, and a few souls wandered around the halls of the building, not sure what to do. The only thing people seemed to agree on was that everyone was going to stay together.

 

“How is he?”

 

Skip looked up in surprise as he entered his room and found not only Alex but Buck and Don. He had just walked by room 507 to see if there had been any update on Babe; everyone was worried about the guy.

 

“Bill said that he hasn’t left his room yet,” Skip sighed as he collapsed on top of his bed next to Buck. “He would know. Bill hasn’t left that spot all night.”

 

It was true; Bill hadn’t left his outpost outside of Babe’s dorm room door for even a minute since they had returned from the hospital. Residents of the fifth floor would constantly ask if he needed to lie down or if he needed a break but he always refused.

 

“Bill hasn’t slept in over a day,” Buck sighed as he got up from his seat on the floor. “I’m gonna go see if I can convince him to take a break.”

 

“Good luck,” Skip said. “Guys not leaving.”

 

“Worth a shot,” Buck shrugged before he clapped Skip on the shoulder and exited the room.

 

Buck walked out onto the fifth floor hallway and found it quieter than he had ever before, even during the middle of the night. The hallway was all but empty, except for two young men who stood pressed against the wall across from room 507.

 

“Hey, Bill,” Buck nodded as he walked over to the two friends. “Spina.”

 

“Heya, Buck,” Spina nodded; Bill just grunted.

 

“Bill-”

 

“Don’t even. I’m not fucking going anywhere, Buck,” Bill growled as he glared at Buck out of the corner of his eye. “I’m fine. A guy can go a while without sleep. It’s not gonna… I’ll be fine.”

 

“Well then do you mind if I stay here with you for a bit?” Buck asked as he gestured to the space on the wall next to his friend.

 

“Do whatever you want. It’s a free fucking country.”

 

Buck nodded before he leaned against the wall and focused on the little bits of metal across from him that made up the numbers 507.

 

* * *

 

“Babe.”

 

Gene looked down at the red-haired man who was curled up on his side. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even; Gene was sure most people would think that he was asleep. Gene, however, knew better.

 

“Babe, I gotta run out for a second,” Gene said quietly. “You wanna come with me? Stretch your legs for a bit?”

 

Gene waited for a long moment for Babe to answer, even though inside he knew Babe wouldn’t; he hadn’t said a word since he passed out last night. Sighing quietly, Gene gently disentangled himself from Babe and pulled the blankets tighter around him. He didn’t want to leave Babe, not for a second, hadn’t planned on leaving Babe until he was better but the pressure he felt in his bladder forced him to rethink that plan.

 

“I’ll be right back,” Gene whispered as he smoothed back Babe’s bangs and pressed his dry lips to his forehead. “I promise.”

 

Roe walked to the door but paused before he left. He looked back at the blanketed form on the bed and felt his chest ache. He glanced to the other side of the room and took in the unmade bed cold bed, the vibrant, boyish posters that covered the walls, everything that was so obviously Julian and felt a sickness wash over him. Roe left the dorm room.

 

“Heya, Doc,” Bill greeted him as soon as the door shut behind him; Bill looked just about as bad as Babe. “How’s our boy doing?”

 

“He’s… he’s sleeping,” Gene answered.

 

“Can we go in and see him?” Spina asked.

 

“…yeah. Yeah, I’m just gonna go get some air for a second,” he said as he stepped out of the way.

 

Gene watched as Bill and Spina slowly entered the dorm room before he turned and walked down the hall towards the bathroom. A couple of minutes later when he was washing up in the sink, Roe looked at his own reflection. His face looked paler than usual, there were dark bags under his eyes, and there was a hollow look in his eyes he had never seen there before. Gene cupped his hands under the running water and splashed his face with the cool water. It felt good but did little to change his haggard appearance. Gene dried his face on a paper towel before he left the bathroom.

 

“Eugene!”

 

Roe turned around and found Renee walking towards him. Renee lived on the second floor and was a fellow premed student.

 

“Renee,” he said as she stopped in front of him.

 

“Eugene,” she said quietly, blue eyes tired and a little bloodshot. “I’m so, so sorry about what happened… I know the boy… he was friends with your friend, Edward, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Gene nodded.

 

“I wish I could do something to help.”

 

“Renee, you don’t have to-”

 

“I know there’s not much I can do in this situation,” Renee continued while she opened the school bag she had thrown over her shoulder and reached inside. “But I can’t sit around doing nothing. So, here.”

 

In her hand was an oversized chocolate bar; it was almost the size of his head. Gene accepted the candy bar but looked up at her, confused.

 

“Chocolate always makes me feel better when I’m upset,” Renee explained. “I know it’s a little silly, but maybe it will make you and Edward feel better, even if it’s only for a moment or two.”

 

“Thanks, Renee,” he smiled. “It’s really sweet of you.”

 

Renee smiled and pecked him on the cheek before she turned and disappeared around the bend in the hallway. Gene stared at the slab of chocolate in his hands, ran his fingers over the silver lettering on the packaging, and gave the package a quick, experimental sniff before he shoved it into his hoodie pocket and walked back to Babe’s room.

 

When he arrived back in 507 he found Babe in the same position as before while Bill and Spina sat on the edge of Babe’s bed. Spina glanced at Gene when he entered but Bill kept his eyes focused on Babe’s frozen form.

 

“Can I talk to you two?” Gene asked. “Outside? Just for a moment.”

 

“Sure, Doc,” Spina nodded as he stood up. He turned to look at Bill and when his friend didn’t move he placed a hand on his shoulder. “Bill. Come on.”

 

Frowning, Bill followed the other two men out into the hallway. When Spina closed the dorm room door, Bill rounded on Roe.

 

“So what’s so important we gotta go out here?”

 

“We need to get Babe out of that room,” Gene stated. “It ain’t healthy.”

 

“Well what do you want us to do? Pick him up and carry him out?” Bill asked. “He doesn’t really look up to moving.”

 

“I don’t know but him being in there, surrounded by all of those reminders of Julian?” Gene couldn’t help but notice how both men flinched at the name of their departed friend. “It ain’t doing him any favors. As long as he’s lying in there he’s not gonna get any better.”

 

“Doc’s right, Bill,” Ralph admitted. “He can’t stay in there.”

 

“So what the hell are we gonna do about it?”

 

* * *

 

George was pretty sure this was the longest time he had ever spent in bed. Growing up in his busy household sleeping in had never really been a frequent option and in Hanks house there was usually something or someone that pulled him out of bed before he was ready. Now, however, there was nothing. The entire building seemed dead quiet, no one banged on his door to check out some stupid video and there were no classes to attend, he didn’t have any appetite that pulled him out to the dining hall, and all he really wanted was to go to sleep and find out that the last twenty-four hours had just been one horrible nightmare.

 

George felt exhausted, wasn’t quite sure if he had really fell asleep last night or if he just spent the entire night staring at the ceiling, but he didn’t think he could sleep. His mind was buzzing with everything that had happened yesterday, the sounds of gunfire, helping students to safety with Lip, the crushing fear that came with not knowing what had happened, it kept him awake when all he wanted to do was slip into unconsciousness.

 

The jarring noise of his cell phone buzzing against the floor broke through the thick melancholy. He leaned over the edge of the bed to see who was calling him; it was his mother. For a moment George thought against answering the call, he knew he didn’t have the energy for whatever his mother wanted from him, but knew ignoring his mother was probably not the best thing to do. Sighing heavily, Luz picked up his phone from the floor and answered it on the last ring.

 

“Hey, mom,” George answered as he rolled onto his back and focused on a spot on the ceiling.

 

_“Georgie! Honey….oh, George, are you alright?”_

 

“Yeah, yeah I guess I’m alright,” he frowned.

 

_“George… what an awful thing to happen.”_ his mother continued tearfully. _“I don’t even know what to say…”_

 

“It’s okay, mom,” Luz said. “You don’t have to say anything.”

 

_“A mother can’t just not do or say anything,”_ she persisted in a voice that was now sounded closer to anger than tears. _“You had to deal with something horrible, George.”_

 

“…I’m fine, mom,” he lied. For a moment George tried to decide if he wanted to tell him mom the truth, that he had known Julian, had been good friends with him, had spent hours with him while they wreaked havoc throughout Hanks House together. He decided against telling his mother the truth, at least for now. George didn’t know if he could make it through that conversation. He felt a lump form in his throat and he attempted to clear his throat before he continued. “Sorry. Sorry I didn’t call or text you or anything to let you know I was okay… I must have worried you and dad but I just… things were kinda crazy here. It slipped my mind. I’m sorry.”

 

_“It’s okay_ ,” she replied. “ _We’re just so thankful that you’re okay.”_

 

George nodded his head but didn’t respond; the longer he spoke to his mother the worse he felt. Hearing his mother’s teary voice would always hurt but when he thought of the reason why it she sounded that way Luz just wanted to bury himself under his covers and forget everything.

 

“Listen, mom, um, me and guys were gonna go get some lunch-”

 

_Is it even lunchtime?_ George thought to himself; he didn’t have the slightest clue on what time it was.

 

“-so I gotta go but I’ll call you back later?” George lied; he had very little intention of calling his mother anytime soon.

 

_“Oh, okay but there was another reason why I called you_ ,” his mother added quickly.

 

“Okay,” George mumbled as he rolled over onto his side.

_“Me and your father, well, when we heard what had happened, we started to talk_.”

 

“….and?” he asked while he felt a twinge of nervousness run through his body; it was never a good thing when someone said that they had been ‘talking’.

 

“ _Me and your father have been talking, and I know what happened isn’t a common occurrence but-”_

 

“But?”

 

_“But we really want you to come back home.”_

 

“Mom I was literally just home last week. Plane tickets are expensive I can’t just fly out every weekend.”

_“No, Georgie, I mean we want you to come back home permanently. We want you to transfer out of Pacific Coast University.”_

 

* * *

 

Lewis stared at the television across the room without really paying any attention to what he was watching. He was still lying in Dick’s bed; he hadn’t really left it after he had come into the room the night before and collapsed on the bed with Dick. Early this morning he had woken up momentarily when Dick had untangled himself from Nixon before he left to go do something. Before he had left the room Dick had kissed him and asked him if he would still be here when he got back; Nixon promised him he would before he fell back asleep. Lewis had woken up about an hour ago and found Dick still missing but he had absolutely no wish to leave the bed except to maybe go grab a drink.

 

_Doesn’t sound like a bad idea actually_ , Nixon thought as he blinked and watched the television screen come back into focus; he was watching fucking SpongeBob Squarepants for Christ sakes.

 

Nixon pulled the warm blankets off of his body and slipped out of the dorm room quickly. Everything was still unusually quiet in the hallway and it made Nixon feel uneasy. When he entered his room he found it dark and he could quite clearly make out two forms on Ron’s bed, buried beneath the blankets. Quietly, so as to not wake up the two up and incur the wrath of Ron Speirs, Lew headed for the desk drawer where he kept his flask and took a long pull from it. There was the familiar burn followed by the burst of warmth in his chest that helped to push away some of the awful feelings that were smothering him. Nixon went to take another pull when he heard a soft and extremely familiar voice from across the hall.

 

“Lew?”

 

“I’m in here,” Nix called out before he quickly exited his room and almost ran face first into Dick. “Sorry.”

 

“It’s okay,” Dick sighed, looking exhausted.

 

“Hey…,” Lewis said quietly as he reached up to cup Dick’s face. “What’s up?”

 

“…I just got off the phone with Julian’s parents,” Dick explained.

 

“Oh my god. Dick…”

 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Dick said heavily before he moved to rest his head on Nixon’s shoulder.

 

Nixon wrapped his arms around his weary boyfriend and held him tight; he couldn’t imagine what that conversation must have been like. Dick buried his face in the side of Lew’s neck and wrapped his arms around his body. They stayed embraced in the middle of the hallway before Nixon loosened his grip and gently lead Dick back to his room.

 

“Come on. Let’s lay down,” Nixon said softly as he closed the door behind them.

 

“You were watching SpongeBob?” Dick asked with a hint of a smile on his face as he motioned to the television.

 

“Just for some background noise,” Lew grumbled. “I’ll turn it off.”

 

“No. Keep it on.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah,” Dick sighed as he sat down on the edge of his bed and toed off his shoes. “I could use a distraction right now.”

 

“Alright.”

 

Dick stripped out of his jeans and his sweater before he climbed under the covers in his boxers and undershirt. Once he was comfortable he turned to look at Nixon expectantly. Lew smiled before he got in on the empty space on Dick’s tiny dorm bed that had unofficially become Lew’s side. Once under the covers Dick rested his head on Lew’s chest and Nix wrapped an arm around his back while his other hand fell into Dick’s red hair. Dick let out a deep sigh as Lew began running his fingers through his hair and closed his tired brown eyes.

 

Lew’s heart ached to see Dick in such a state and he desperately wanted to do or say something, anything to make him feel better. He knew saying something along the lines of ‘it’ll be okay’ were bullshit empty words; Nixon didn’t feel like things would ever be okay again. He also knew that being there for Dick was probably enough, but it didn’t feel like it to him. Not knowing what else to do, Lewis pressed his lips into Dick’s hair and held him even tighter.

 

“I love you.”

 

“I love you too, Lew.”

 

* * *

 

“Where are you running off to?”

 

Lipton turned around and found a pair of sleepy, green eyes staring at him from underneath the covers of his bed. After another moment the blankets were pulled back a little more and Ron’s impressive bed head appeared.

 

“Just gonna go check on some things,” Lipton answered while he smiled fondly at his boyfriend’s sleep-mused appearance.

 

“Check on some things? Or some people?” Ron asked as he pulled the blankets off of himself and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

 

“Both,” Lipton admitted before he walked back over to Ron and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Go back to bed. I’ll be back in a bit. Okay?”

 

Instead of responding, Ron stared up at him for a long moment before he leaned forward and rested his head against Carwood’s stomach.

 

“What is it?” Lip asked quietly while he moved his hand into Ron’s dark, messy hair.

 

“Nothing,” Ron muttered before he pulled away from Lipton. “You wanna get breakfast when you’re done doing rounds?”

 

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Carwood smiled.

 

Lipton bent down and kissed the top of Ron’s head before he stepped away from the older man and exited Ron’s dorm room. Lipton found the fifth floor hallway completely different than any other time before. It was eerily quiet and all of the dorm room doors were firmly shut. He didn’t even see this during finals week or during the middle of the night; there was always something going on somewhere in this place. Except now.

 

Lipton walked passed 507 and found it lacking of the guard that had been there the night before; he assumed that the boys were inside the room now because he doubted they would leave their post for anything else. Lipton kept moving until he reached the end of the hallway and found that there was no one to check on. He wasn’t about to go knocking on doors so he turned around and was about to head back to Ron’s room when someone called out to him.

 

“Hey, Lip.”

 

Carwood turned around and found George Luz standing in the doorway of his dorm room. He looked exhausted and like the hollowed out shell of the usually vibrant young man Lipton had come to know.

 

“What’s up, George?”

 

“Can I… can I talk to you for a second?” he asked quietly. “If you’ve got a minute. If not, it’s fine, I understand…”

 

“Of course you can talk to me,” Lipton said.

 

George nodded before he took a step back and allowed Lipton to enter his room. Luz shut the door before he walked to his bed and collapsed on the edge of it. Lipton sat down across from Luz on his desk chair and waited for Luz to start speaking.

 

“The thing is, earlier my mom called me,” Luz started after a long quiet pause. “And, uh, she told me that she and my dad had discussed some things after… after what had happened and she told me that my parents want me to transfer out of Pacific Coast and go back home to Rhode Island.”

 

“What?” Lipton asked, feeling shocked.

 

“Yeah,” Luz nodded as he looked up at Lipton; his brown eyes had confusion written all over them, as if he still didn’t believe the news either.

 

“What did you tell her?” Carwood asked. “Are you… are you leaving, Luz?”

 

“I’m not fucking leaving,” Luz said in a defiant and almost angry voice that clashed greatly with what Lipton usually associated with the guy.

 

“Okay. Good,” Carwood smiled. “Did you tell her that?”

 

“Yeah,” George nodded before he cracked a small grin. “Word for word actually. You can imagine she didn’t take too kindly to that.”

 

“No I don’t suppose she would,” he smiled. “What did she say after that?”

 

“You mean after that bullshit ‘I understand you’re upset but it’s for your own good blah, blah, blah’?” George frowned. “She told me she would call back later, probably with my dad too so they can tag team against me.”

 

Lipton watched as Luz fiddled with his hands and glared at the ground for a long moment; it worried Carwood. He had never seen Luz like this, so obviously upset and angry and unsure of what to do.

 

“Hey, Lip, can you hand me my smokes and lighter from my desk?” Luz asked as he motioned to the slim paper packaging that sat near his elbow. “I know I’m not supposed to smoke in the dorm but extenuating circumstances. You understand, right?”

 

“Of course,” Lipton smiled before he handed the package to his friend.

 

Luz pulled a cigarette out of the pack and lit it before he walked over to the window and opened it, letting in a strong, brisk breeze. Lipton watched Luz smoke for a minute before he got up and leaned against the opposite side of the window across from him.

 

“Hey, George, you mind if I bum one?” Lipton asked.

 

“One of these?” George asked with wide eyes as he gave his slightly crumpled pack a little shake.

 

“Yeah,” Carwood said with a soft smile; he had heard his fair share of comments about being one of only a handful of guys who didn’t smoke in the entire dorm.

 

Luz handed him a cigarette and tossed him the lighter. Lip gave the lighter a flick and a small flame appeared. He lit the cigarette and took a small inhale; he didn’t want to breathe too deeply and end up hacking up a lung like some kid. After he managed a few more easy inhalations he tossed the lighter back to Luz, who was smirking at him, looking amused.

 

“Thought you didn’t smoke,” he said with raised eyebrows as he pocketed the lighter.

 

“I don’t.”

 

“Uh huh, sure,” he said skeptically before he blew a puff of smoke out the window. “Ya know, Lip, seeing you smoke is kinda like see your mom smoke. It’s kinda weird.”

 

“Just trying to distract you, Luz.”

 

“Well it’s certainly working,” he said. “Can’t wait to tell the other guys. They sure as hell aren’t going to believe this.”

 

Lipton smiled and stared out at the view from the fifth floor. Luz’s room faced away from the center of campus and toward the surrounding city. All the buildings looked alike from this distance and he busied himself while he tried to figure out which one was which.

 

“What am I gonna do, Lip?” Luz asked quietly minutes later as he ground his cigarette bud against the windowsill and flicked it out the window. “My mom sounded really dead set and she’s only gonna get more serious about this… what if they actually make me leave?”

 

“We’ll figure something out, Luz,” Lipton said as he reached out and gripped George’s shoulder. “Promise. We’re not losing anyone else.”

 

* * *

 

Leckie couldn’t stand it, the silence, the heavy air, the fact that everyone was just sitting around, it reminded him too much of home. He was alone in his room; Webster had been gone when he woke up and he didn’t feel up to asking where he had run off to. Feeling antsy, Leckie got up off his bed, shoved his feet into a pair of shoes, grabbed his wallet, keys, and smokes, and left the room.

 

He entered the stairwell and practically ran down the stairs. He had almost reached the bottom when he paused on the stairs that connected the first to the second floor. Leckie stared at the emergency exit that lead outside for a long moment before he turned around, walked back up the few steps to the second floor, and entered the hallway.

 

The second floor was almost as solemn as the fifth floor. A few of the doors were cracked open, allowing a couple of quiet voices to drift out into the hallway, but it was still several decibels quieter than usual. Leckie walked until he reached the other end of the hall and stopped in front of room 204. He stood there frozen for a moment while he tried to come to terms with what he was about to do. Leckie let out a deep breath before he reached out and knocked on the wooden door. For a second Leckie almost hoped that no one was inside the room but almost instantly he heard two female voices and footsteps.

 

“Hello?”

 

A pretty girl with shoulder length, curly brown hair and a slight southern accent answered the door.

 

“Um, is Vera here?” Leckie asked.

 

“And who should I say is calling?” the girl asked in an over exaggerated tone but the smile on her face let Leckie know she was teasing.

 

“Bob. Bob Leckie.”

 

“Bob?” Vera’s voice sounded from inside the room.

 

Leckie watched in amusement as Vera appeared behind her roommate and gave her a small but forceful shove away from the door.

 

“Ow, Vera!”

 

“Sorry, Mary,” Vera apologized quickly before stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her. Vera smiled shyly at Leckie. “Hi, Bob.”

 

“Vera,” Leckie smiled.

 

“What are you doing down here?” she asked politely.

 

“I was-”

 

“One second,” Vera interrupted quickly before she took her elbow and hit it against the door behind her; it was followed immediately by an exclamation of pain and subsequent annoyed grumblings. Vera looked back up at Leckie and smiled apologetically. “Sorry. Mary can be a little nosy.”

 

“It’s okay,” Leckie grinned, completely taken aback by the turn of events.

 

“So, how come you’re down here in my neck of the woods?”

 

“Uh, I was just, I needed some air and I decided to go for a walk. I thought I would ask you if you wanted to join me.”

 

“I’d love to go for a walk with you,” Vera answered. “Just let me grab my jacket.”

 

“Sure.”

 

Once Vera had her jacket, the two of them exited the building and began walking down the sidewalk. Leckie didn’t know where they were going or what to say; he couldn’t remember the last time he felt this unsure. Leckie fumbled with the pack of cigarettes in his pocket for a moment before he pulled them out.

 

“Do you mind if I smoke?” Leckie asked politely. “If you don’t like it, I won’t-”

 

“You’re fine, Bob,” Vera smiled. “Almost everyone in the dorm smokes. I’m used to it.”

 

“Just because you’re used to something doesn’t mean you should have to deal with it if you don’t want to,” Leckie said while as he began to put the pack back into his pocket.

 

“Bob,” Vera said as she placed one of her hands on the hand that held his cigarettes, stopping him before he could put the pack away. “Really. I don’t mind.”

 

“Thanks,” Leckie smiled before he stopped to light a cigarette.

 

“Everyone could use something to relax right about now,” Vera said quietly as they continued walking.

 

“Yeah,” he sighed while he felt some of the heaviness he had been trying to escape back in Hanks House return to him.

 

He didn’t want to talk about what had happened. He didn’t want to talk about Julian or how well he had known the kid and he definitely didn’t want to talk about he was feeling. He didn’t want to talk or think about these things, it was why he had fled Hanks House today. Leckie just hoped Vera understood.

 

“So… do you wanna go get something to eat?” Vera asked after a long pause.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Do you want to go grab some lunch?” Vera asked again with a smile. “There’s a good place to eat a street or two away from here, if you want to.”

 

“Yeah,” Leckie nodded. “I’d love to.”

 

Together the two walked off of campus and toward a small but brightly lit diner-type restaurant. They sat down at a booth in the corner, far away from the only other patrons. There was music but it was too soft to really make an impact on the heavy silence Leckie felt pressing on top of him.

 

“So how well are your classes going?” Vera asked politely after the waiter had stopped by to take their drink orders.

 

“I think it’s a little too early to tell,” Leckie answered with a smile.

 

“Honest. I like that,” Vera said with a bright smile.

 

It was beautiful. Vera’s smile, it gave Leckie great pause. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen something so beautiful. He couldn’t look away.

 

“You’re staring,” Vera said with a nervous laugh as she ducked her head.

 

“I’m sorry,” Leckie apologized.

 

Vera looked back up at him, her cheeks were now pink and color. Leckie took in her long dark hair pulled back, her bright eyes, the pink of her cheeks, her smile… she was beautiful. And he wanted her to know that.

 

“Actually, I’m not sorry,” Leckie amended, causing Vera to raise an eyebrow. “For years I’ve been a miserable bastard and I’ve dreamt of a moment like this, to sit down at a table across from a beautiful woman…”

 

“Wow. You get right to it, don’t you,” Vera said after a long pause while her face grew redder than before.

 

“You said you liked honesty,” Leckie said with a smile.

 

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their waiter and their drinks. They accepted their coffees before he departed again with the promise to return with their orders.

 

“You were a ‘miserable bastard’ for years?” Vera asked casually as she added cream to her coffee.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Why?”

 

“My family mostly,” Leckie answered. “After eighteen years with them I think anyone who hadn’t gone insane would be miserable to say the least.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s alright,” Bob said quietly. “Everyone’s got family issues.”

 

There was a long pause where the only noise came from the tiny clicks of spoons on the inside of the coffee mugs and the quiet music that came out of the restaurant radio.

 

“Why me?” Vera asked suddenly.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Why me? Why me and not, let’s say, _Jennifer Lawrence_ or _Emma Watson_ ,” Vera asked in a slightly teasing tone. “Why not any other girl on campus? Why me?”

 

“Because I know you,” Leckie answered.

 

“Bob… we live in the same dorm, we had a class together, we bump into each other around campus on occasion but… but you don’t really know me,” Vera said quietly.

 

“I’m sorry,” Bob apologized quickly while he tried to fight away the unpleasant twisting sensation he felt in his stomach. “You’re right. I don’t know you. I just…”

 

“Bob, it’s fine.” Vera said as she reached across the table and gripped one of Leckie’s hands. Leckie looked up at Vera, saw her smile, and felt the uncomfortable twisting sensation leave his stomach almost immediately. “This is fine.”

 

“Sorry,” Leckie apologized again while he couldn’t help but smile back at her.

 

“Just because you don’t know me doesn’t mean you can’t get to know me,” Vera smiled. “It’s a start.”

 

* * *

 

The next day at Pacific Coast University wasn’t much better. All of the residents were still stuck in a similar state of disarray and depression. The mood only got worse when in the afternoon Bill received a call from his mother.

 

“They’ve set up his funeral,” Bill announced gruffly once he returned to Spina’s side; they were back to keeping guard outside of Babe’s room while the Doc kept a closer watch on him.

 

“Already?” Spina asked, his voice sounding hollow.

 

“Yeah I guess…” Bill sighed. “That’s not the only thing though.”

 

“Yeah? What else?”

 

“My ma said that his parents wanted his things back.”

 

“So we have to go in there and pack up all of his stuff?” Spina asked, sounding almost sick.

 

“Well what did you expect, Spina?” Bill growled. “We can’t just fucking leave his shit in there forever.”

 

“I know, Bill,” Spina said quietly.

 

“It ain’t gonna be pretty but we gotta do it,” Bill huffed.

 

“So what’re we gonna do about Babe?” Ralph asked. “We gonna leave him in there while we pack everything up? Think that’s a good idea?”

 

“I don’t know,” Bill admitted. “We gotta try something though.”

 

“When do we need to have his things packed by?” Spina asked after a long pause.

 

“My ma said we would be leaving the day after tomorrow; apparently they already bought us the plane tickets,” Bill answered. “Funerals not gonna be for a few more days but they wanted us back soon as possible. Ma said they talked to the university already about getting us out of classes…”

 

“So we only have two days to get everything ready?” Spina asked.

 

“Apparently,” Bill sighed.

 

“Well then I guess we can’t put this off forever,” Spina said heavily before he turned and entered room 507; Bill followed after him.

 

Inside Ralph and Bill found Babe and Gene lying on top of Babe’s bed, similar to how they had been every other time they entered the room. This time, however, Roe was lying on his back while Babe rested his head on his chest, a book was held in one of Roe’s hands and he was reading aloud in a soft, calming tone. Gene stopped reading after the two friends stepped inside.

 

“What’s up?” Gene asked.

 

“We’ve got a slight problem,” Bill announced.

 

* * *

 

Eugene couldn’t remember the last time he had seen the dining hall so empty, especially at this time of day. He and Sidney had decided to get out of the dorm for a bit and grab something to eat; they had only managed to get as far as the nearby dining hall. Eugene stared at his plate of eggs, hash browns, bacon, and toast and felt the strong urge to dump it into the closest trashcan; he wasn’t even remotely hungry.

 

“Eugene!”

 

Eugene looked up and found Sidney waving him over to a table a few feet away.

 

“You looked like a zombie,” Sidney teased as soon as Eugene sat down across from him.

 

“I feel like a zombie,” Eugene admitted.

 

“Hey, you doing alright?” Sidney asked as he watched his best friend play with his food instead of eating it.

 

“Doing as well as I can, given the circumstances,” Eugene sighed.

 

“I mean, are you feeling okay?” Sidney asked in a quieter voice. “After the hospital. Your ticker working alright?”

 

“My _ticker_ is ticking away, Sid,” Eugene said with a roll of his eyes. “So you can go ahead and call my mother and let her know that I’m alright, even though I’ve already told her that I’m fine ten times already.”

 

“She knows that if you weren’t okay you wouldn’t tell her,” Sidney said.

 

“If I wasn’t alright I wouldn’t have been discharged from the hospital,” he sighed.

 

“She’s your mother, she’s supposed to worry.”

 

“Okay so what’s your excuse?” Eugene countered.

 

“I’m your best friend. Have been for our entire lives. I know the shit you keep from your parents so if anyone has the right to worry, it’s me,” Sidney declared.

 

“And I gotta say, at times you definitely worry more than my mother.”

 

“Well recently I’ve been upstaged as top worrier when it comes to you,” Sidney said as he pointed a fork at him.

 

“What?”

 

“Snafu has me beat right now,” Sidney said while Eugene felt his face heat up. “Running to the hospital, practically breaking down the front doors trying to find you?”

 

“Shut up, Sid,” Eugene muttered into his plate of untouched food.

 

“Did he even leave your bedside?”

 

“Give me a break, you old greaser.”

 

“I’m just curious.”

 

Eugene rolled his eyes before he finally began eating his plate of food. He and Sidney hadn’t had a chance to really talk about that night but it was all Eugene could really think about. He still had trouble believing what had happened. Never in a million years would he have expected Merriell to not only run to the hospital to find him but then spend the entire night at his bedside.

 

After Merriell had arrived, Sidney had given them some time together but after he returned almost half an hour later, Sidney told Eugene that he was gonna head back to campus, claiming that Eugene was in good hands. Eugene had expected Merriell to leave, to go back to campus once he was tired, but he had stayed.  The entire night Merriell stayed in that uncomfortable hospital chair at his side and the next morning they had taken the bus back to campus.

 

Ever since they returned to Hanks House, Eugene hadn’t found the chance to talk to Merriell but he wasn’t sure he would know what to say even if they had been able to talk. Things had been fine at the hospital but the entire bus ride back to campus felt off, awkward even, and the longer Eugene went without speaking to Merriell the more sure he was that Merriell had felt the awkwardness too. They were in a confusing position. Were they just friends or were they more? Eugene had initially called their planned get-together a date to tease Merriell but instead of fighting it, Merriell went with it and Eugene never felt the need to clarify. And then there was the fact that their hands had been intertwined for hours. Eugene had gripped his hand on reflex to calm him down and then Shelton hadn’t tried to get his hand back and Eugene found he didn’t want to let go.

 

“Eugene, can I ask you something?” Sidney asked as they walked back to Hanks House after breakfast.

 

“What is it?”

 

“What’s going on between you and Shelton?” Sidney asked nervously as they entered Hanks house through the side door; Eugene paused to look at Sidney. “Not that it matters, ya know, if you’re friends or, or _something else_. You’re still my best friend no matter what, Eugene. I’m just… just wondering. I mean, after everything that happened at the hospital, I’m just curious.”

 

Eugene stared at his best friend, who was fidgeting and looked almost as nervous as the time he had to tell his mother that he ruined her brand new couch when they were nine, and smiled before he let out a snort and began climbing the steps towards the fifth floor.

 

“Truth be told, Sid, I’m not quite sure what’s going on between us,” Eugene answered as he paused halfway up the flight of stairs.

 

“Really?”

 

“Really,” Eugene answered before he turned around and faced his best friend. “But once I know what’s going on, you’ll be the first to know. I promise.”

 

* * *

 

“I need a smoke,” Skip declared to his empty room.

 

Skip sat on the edge of his bed, alone; Penkala had gone with Malarkey to get some food earlier and Skip had stayed, not having much of an appetite. Skip had hardly left his dorm room since yesterday and although he wasn’t in the mood for food, he was absolutely dying for some air and a smoke.

 

Skip pushed himself up from the edge of the bed, grabbed his cigarettes and his coat before he slipped on his tennis shoes and exited his room. Skip walked down the hallway to the stairwell and, after a quick moment of debate, decided to go up instead of down. A moment later he opened the door out on the roof, wedged the door open, and headed toward the edge.

 

The wind was strong and brisk and made it difficult to light his cigarette but he liked it; it reminded him of bitter winters back home in Tonawanda. Skip leaned against the wall that surrounded the edge of the roof and stared up at the clear blue sky. He wondered if the sky looked as nice back home.

 

Skip placed his half-smoked cigarette between his lips before he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. His thumb hovered over the call button for a moment but he moved it away at the sound of the door opening behind him. Skip pocketed his phone before he turned to see who had decided to join him on the roof.

 

“Luz!” Skip called out as the shorter, brown-haired man as he walked across the rooftop towards him. “How are you?”

 

“Frankly, Skip, I’ve been better,” Luz said as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “You got a light?”

 

“Of course,” he answered as he pulled out his lighter from his coat pocket.

 

Once his cigarette was lit, Luz leaned against the wall next Skip. The two friends smoked in a comfortable silence for a long moment before George spoke up.

 

“You’ll never guess who bummed a smoke off of me yesterday,” Luz mumbled around his cigarette.

 

“Was it Speirs?” Skip asked. “Because that guy is a straight up moocher. He uses his scare tactics to bum whatever he wants off of people.”

 

“No, it wasn’t Speirs,” Luz smiled. “But they do have a rather close relationship with Speirs.”

 

“Who was it?”

 

“Lip.”

 

“What? No fucking way,” Skip exclaimed.

 

“Swear to God,” Luz grinned.

 

“Lip doesn’t smoke.”

 

“That’s what I told the guy but he still asked for a smoke. And who am I to deny my good friend the relaxation that comes with a Lucky Strike?”

 

“What would we do without George Luz,” Skip asked. “Always looking out for his fellow man. How could we survive around here?”

 

“Yeah well, you might have to, Skip,” Luz muttered as his expression fell into something much more somber.

 

“What are you talking about, Luz?” Skip asked, feeling confused and worried.

 

“My parents called,” Luz answered slowly as he busied himself with lighting a new cigarette. “After everything that happened, they think Pacific Coast isn’t the safest place anymore and they decided that I should transfer to somewhere back home.”

 

“What the fuck?” Skip asked in shock.

 

“I had a similar response.”

 

“So what the fuck is gonna happen, Luz? Are you gonna fucking leave us? You can’t leave. You’re an adult. Your parents can’t force you somewhere.”

 

Skip felt sick. He couldn’t image school with Luz; it wouldn’t be anywhere near the same without him. Skip couldn’t stand the idea of having another good friend leave him, even if in this case it would just be a matter of distance.

 

“If it’s up to me, Skip, I wouldn’t leave this place,” Luz answered. “This place is home, it’s were I’m meant to be.”

 

“Good.”

 

“But I don’t know if it’s gonna be that easy. My parents…I don’t know. They’re pretty reasonable but if they’re really passionate about something there’s no fighting them. I may just have to say ‘adios’ to the place, Skip.”

 

For a moment, Skip tried to imagine what Hanks House would be like without George Luz running about the halls. There would be so much less laughter, fewer cigarette burn marks on the furniture, no more impressions over lunch in the dining hall. Hanks Hall would be less welcoming without George brightening it up with his smile and charm, it would be less relaxing without someone there to crack a joke and make a stressful day better in an instant. Hanks House couldn’t lose this guy.

 

“I really hope you won’t have to, George,” Skip said quietly as he turned to look at his good friend.

 

“Me too, Skip.”

 

* * *

 

“Babe, Babe, ya gotta listen to us, okay?”

 

Babe sat on the edge of his bed with his upper body supported by his elbows on his knees. Bill was crouched in front of him on one knee while Babe refused to meet his eyes. Bill reached out, gripped Babe’s shoulder, and gave it a firm squeeze. After over a half an hour of talking and coaxing Bill, Ralph, and Gene managed to get Babe upright.

 

“Babe. We gotta pack up his things,” Bill said gently around the lump that was beginning to form in his throat. “You can stay if you want but if you want, the Doc will take you to his and Spina’s room and you can stay there until we’re done. So what do you want to do?”

 

Bill stared at his best friend and felt his heart shatter. The poor kid looked like a hollow shell of the once easy going, smiling Babe he had known for his entire life. Bill didn’t know what the hell to do. In the past whenever Babe had been upset all he had needed to do to cheer up his friend was crack a bad joke or two, slap him upside the head on occasion or even give him a tight hug before he was on his way to recovery. Now, however, Bill had no idea. It frustrated him.

 

“Babe,” Bill repeated as he reached out and lifted Babe’s chin up slightly so that his bloodshot brown eyes met Bill’s. “Talk to me. What do you want to do? Do you wanna stay here?”

 

Slowly Babe shook his head before he dipped his eyes back to the floor; Bill thought the poor kid might be about to cry again. Bill cupped the side of Babe’s face and gave it a gentle tap.

 

“It’s okay, Babe. It’s fine,” Bill whispered. “Let’s get you up and out of here, stretch your legs, get some air? It’ll do you a world of good. Promise.”

 

Bill helped get Babe up onto his feet but before he could move, there was a knock on the door. Bill looked over his shoulder at Spina and Roe, who shrugged; Spina was the first to move to the door.

 

“Uh, hey, is Babe up?”

 

“In a manner of speaking,” Spina answered before he open the door wider to reveal Eugene standing in the doorway.

 

“Heya, Sledge,” Bill said as he place a supportive arm around Babe’s waist. “We need to clean up around here so we’re just moving Babe for a bit.”

 

“How’re you doing, Babe?” Sledge asked gently as he took a step into the room.

 

Babe didn’t answer but he glanced up at Sledge before he shrugged; it was more of an answer than Bill had gotten out of him lately.

 

“Anything I can do to help?” Eugene asked sincerely. “If you want, Babe, you can come sit in my room for a bit. Watch a movie if you want?”

 

“Yeah,” Babe croaked, his voice weak and rusty from lack of use. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

 

Ten minutes later, Babe was sitting on the floor of 506 next to Eugene while they watched a bootleg copy of one of the newest blockbusters. Roe was out on a smoke break, and Bill and Spina were attempting to start the painful tasks of packing up Julian’s belongings.

 

Eugene didn’t know what to say as the movie started and he sat down next to Babe, who looked like he was about to topple over at any second. Everything was different. If this was a regular day, Eugene and Babe would have been talking easily over the opening credits about classes and friends and family. If this was a regular day, they probably would have been disrupted by several loud and entertaining residents of Hanks House before a popcorn fight broke out and ended any chance of peace and relaxation. Now, however, Eugene didn’t expect any of that to happen. Small talk felt like pulling teeth to Eugene and no one seemed like they would be up for popcorn fights anytime soon.

 

As he and Babe sat quietly on the floor of his dorm room, Eugene couldn’t help but think back to that night at the beginning of the semester. It had been during the first week at Pacific Coast on the night of the beach party before classes began. Eugene had stayed in, Babe had returned early from the party, and as the only two on the fifth floor, they had settled in to watch a movie. Not long after, they were joined by the rest of the boys from the fifth floor along with a number of others from Hanks House. Eugene remembered falling asleep last night on the floor with someone’s feet on his stomach and Babe’s arm thrown over his face. He remembered how happy and content he had felt, how sure he was that this year was going to be the best thing that had ever happened to him.

 

Eugene was broken out of his line of thought when Babe’s head fell onto his shoulder. Eugene looked down and watched as Babe started to cry again.

 

“Hey, hey, Babe, it’s okay,” Eugene said as he wrapped an arm tightly around his friend. “You’re okay.”

 

“No,” Babe croaked before he cleared his throat and repeated in a much stronger voice, “No. It’s not okay.”

 

Babe moved his head off of Eugene’s shoulder before he began wiping furiously at his face in an attempt to stop the tears that didn’t seem close to ending. Eugene readjusted his position but kept an arm firmly wrapped around Babe.

 

“I’m pathetic,” Babe growled at himself.

 

“No you’re not, Babe,” Eugene said. “You just lost one of the closest people in your life. You’re allowed to grieve. It’s okay.”

 

“Yeah well Bill and Spina were just as close to Julian as I was,” Babe continued. “You don’t see them lying in bed for days, fucking crying for hours, do you? No. They’ve got their shit together while they’ve got to watch me like some infant.” Babe turned to look at him; his eyes were bloodshot and tired but Eugene could see a spark forming that hadn’t been there earlier. “I am pathetic.”

 

“Babe…”

 

“No. I am,” he insisted. “I can’t do fucking anything. We’re all grieving, Eugene, and instead of focusing on Julian or their fucking selves, they’re focusing on me… I’m letting them down. I’m letting Julian down.”

 

Babe wiped at his face again with the sleeve of his sweatshirt; the tears had almost completely subsided but Babe’s breathing was still irregular and his body shook with left-over sobs.

 

“I should be in there.”

 

“What?”

 

“I should be in there, with Bill and Spina. For Julian,” Babe declared firmly. “If they can do it, I can fucking do it.”

 

“Are you sure about it, Babe?” Eugene asked tentatively.

 

“It’s something that I gotta do,” Babe affirmed before he broke out of Eugene’s hold and stood up on shaky legs. “Julian was one of my closest friends. If it had been me… he would be in there for me. I know it. So I gotta be there for him.”

 

“Alright,” Eugene nodded. “I understand.”

 

Babe walked out of the room and cross the hallway to 507. Babe hesitated for a moment in front of the door before he pushed it open. Inside Babe found Bill and Spina slowly and somberly peeling off Julian’s many posters off of the wall; only a few of Julian’s things had been put away but it made Babe feel a sickening hollow sensation in the pit of his stomach.

 

_You gotta do this, Babe,_ he told himself as he took another step into the room and cleared his throat so that his presence would be known.

 

“Babe,” Bill said as he turned around and looked at his best friend with wide eyes. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I decided I wanted… I need to help you guys with this,” Babe announced; he cursed himself when his voice came out much weaker than he had intended it to.

 

“You sure about this, Babe?” Spina asked as he paused in the middle of rolling up a poster.

 

“I am,” Babe nodded. Bill and Spina both opened their mouths but before they could say anything, ask if Babe was really sure, if he was feeling okay, if he could manage it, Babe cut them off with a bite of anger in his voice. “Listen. I’m sure. I gotta do this as much as you do. You’re both grieving just as much as I am, I know it. You guys need help and I’m the only other person who can help with this.”

 

“Babe…”

 

“If it were me who… who got it, you know damn well that Julian would be here with you guys helping, not going fetal in his bed for days,” Babe said firmly.

 

With all eyes on him, Babe walked towards the nearest poster of Julian’s and gently pulled it from the wall. Once off of the wall, Babe stared at the poster and felt his heart sink lower, if that was even possible at this point. It was a poster for the movie ‘Four Brothers’; it was the first R-rated movie they had ever snuck into at their local movie theater back in South Philly.

 

Babe remembered the day clearly. They had been ten-years-old at the time and were filled with more swagger and bravado than any fifth grade student should ever have. After school one day in early September the four of them had been sitting around Bill’s house, bored out of their minds. Some of Bill’s older siblings were supposed to be watching them until Bill’s mother got home from work but after an hour, the four ten-year-olds had put the elder Guarnere siblings on their last nerve. Through some series of events Babe no longer quite remembered two of Bill’s older brothers, Joey and Ricky who had been seventeen and eighteen at the time, had dared the four of them to go down the street to the movie theater and sneak into an R rated movie.

 

Inside the safety of the Guarnere’s living room they had laughed and puffed themselves up and claimed that it would be a piece of cake. Once they stepped outside, however, all of that ten-year-old bravado had disappeared in a flash. Spina was sure they would be caught, knew that too many people at the theater recognized them for this to work. Julian had been close to tears when he realized that if they got caught, someone was sure to tell his mother and he’d be grounded for a year. Bill had called them all wimps and told them that they could chicken out and run back home but he was not going to give his older brothers the satisfaction of him failing one of their dares. Babe remembered on the outside he had tried to keep cool, tried to appear as tough as Bill, but inside he felt worse than Julian.

 

The four of them had made it to the movie theater and bought tickets for the next showing of whatever movie they could get into. They had entered the cool, dark building and before any of them could run off, Bill had grabbed them, and pulled them to the closest theater showing an R-rated film. The four of them had sat down near the back of the theater and five minutes into the film they were all wide grins and clapping each other on the back for a job well done. Their bubble had been popped about an hour into the film when someone behind them began tossing popcorn at their heads. When they turned around the four of them found Joey and Ricky grinning and waving at them from a few rows away.

 

The four of them had stayed in the theater until the end of the movie but when they left they were quickly descended upon by the older boys who informed them that they may or may not tell their parents that they had caught them sneaking into an R-rated movie. Babe and Ralph had been annoyed and Julian may have started to cry. Bill had been furious and said that if they told on them he’d tell their parents that the two of them had dared them to do it. Joey and Ricky and grinned and said that there was no way they could prove that they had been dared before they shuffled the four of them into Ricky’s rusted-out shell of a car. On the way home Joey had said that if they did their chores around the house for the next month, they wouldn’t show their parents the pictures they had supposedly taken of them. Unable to think of a way out of the situation, they had relented and crumbled under their demands.

 

Babe remembered how nervous they had been for months afterwards that one of the two brothers would tell their parents if they pissed them off; it had been like walking on eggshells whenever they were around the house. It wasn’t until several months later that Joey and Ricky confessed and admitted, through laughter and tears, that they had never taken any pictures of them and that they had been fucking with them for months; Babe could still hear Bill yelling obscenities in his high-pitched ten-year-old voice almost a decade later.

 

It made him smile.

 

“Hey, remembered when Ricky and Joey dared us sneak into the movies and we saw this?” Babe asked as he turned around and held up the poster for Bill and Spina to see.

 

“Those fucking shits,” Bill growled while Spina laughed.

 

“The worst five months of my elementary school career,” Spina declared with a shake of his head. “They had us wrapped around their fingers.”

 

“Where the hell did they get off? Couple of adults taking advantage of kids almost half their age?” Bill growled. “Bastards the both of them.”

 

“But we got them back,” Babe reminded Bill. “Remember?”

 

“Gum in the hair. Idiots didn’t know the peanut butter trick and shaved their heads,” Bill grinned. “Joey’s date to prom was pissed he had shaved his head right before. It was the least that fucker deserved.”

 

“Didn’t we put shaving cream in their shoes too?” Spina asked with a grin.

 

“I could hear them swearing next door,” Babe remembered.

 

“Priceless. Whose idea was that?”

 

“… Julian’s,” Babe answered after a pause. “After all the hell we went through for months? Julian wouldn’t take just tossing some Hubba Bubba at their heads.”

 

“It was a great idea,” Bill said, smile fading into something more somber.

 

“Ya know, whenever anything went down, people always assumed it was one of you two who came up with it,” Spina said slowly, “but a lot of the time, it was Jules who came up with the counter-prank.”

 

“Guy really was a little shit,” Bill snorted, causing Spina and Babe to chuckle.

 

“But no one ever suspected him because of his damn baby face,” Babe grinned.

 

“He should have been the one nicknamed Baby Face, right, Baby Face?” Bill countered as he smirked at Babe.

 

“Piss off, Gonorrhea,” Babe snapped.

 

“He can’t piss,” Spina joked. “It hurts to piss because of his gonorrhea.”

 

“Fuck the both of you. Neither of you are funny.”

 

Babe let out another laugh before he rolled up the poster in his hands. His eyes still itched with unshed tears, his chest ached, and he felt more than a little queasy but he felt better than he had in a while. Babe knew that this, their grieving, wouldn’t be over anytime soon but he knew that they would be able to work through it together.

 

* * *

 

“Didn’t think you’d be away from your better half’s side anytime soon.”

 

“He’s in good hands,” Gene responded as he removed the lit cigarette from in-between his lips.

 

A moment later, Shelton appeared at this side with his own lit cigarette in hand. Shelton leaned against the space on the wall next to him and together they smoked in silence. It was a little cold outside and the cold brick exterior of the building wasn’t exactly helping the situation either but he didn’t feel like going back inside to grab his jacket. If he went back inside he’d probably just end up going back to check up on Babe.

 

“Guarnere and Spina watching Babe then?” Shelton asked as he flicked away excess ash from the end of his cigarette.

 

“Nope. Sledge is watching him,” Gene answered; out of the corner of his eye he was able to catch his friend shift slightly at the mention of the other man.

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yeah. Spina and Guarnere had to clean up the room. Pack up things for Julian’s parents,” Gene said somberly. “I was gonna watch him in my room but then Sledge offered.”

 

Shelton grunted in response while he went about lighting another cigarette.

 

“Sledge is a good guy,” Gene continued; he received another grunt in response. “You two are pretty close, right?”

 

“I guess.”

 

“He’s been helping you with your schoolwork?” Gene asked to which Shelton nodded his head. “He gonna help you this semester too?”

 

“I dunno. Maybe. We haven’t really talked about it.”

 

“Hope he does. It’s good for you,” Gene said as he turned to look at his friend. “He’s good for you.”

 

“Whatever,” Shelton huffed while he stared at the sidewalk.

 

“I mean it.”

 

“Don’t know why he bothers,” he mumbled around his cigarette.

 

“Clearly he has the same flaw as me.”

 

“Which one? The one where you don’t know how to stop meddling with people who wanna be left alone?”

 

“I was thinking the one where we see the good in people who don’t realize they have it in them,” Gene countered as he crushed his cigarette bud against the wall of the building. “But it could be both.”

 

“I don’t know which one is more obnoxious,” Shelton grumbled.

 

Gene smiled at Shelton and Shelton rolled his eyes while he shoved his remaining cigarettes into his pocket.

 

“Come on,” Shelton muttered as he turned away and began walking towards the door. “Let’s go check on your boyfriend.”

 

“We can check on yours too while we’re at it,” Gene smirked.

 

Shelton paused in the open doorway that lead to the stairwell and turned to look at Roe with a murderous expression on his face.

 

“It’s a good thing you’ve got some medical training because you’re gonna need some by the time I’m done with you,” Shelton warned.

 

“Maybe if I didn’t know you so well I’d be a little scared,” Gene said as he walked passed Shelton and began climbing the stairs up to the fifth floor.

 

Together the two friends walked up the stairwell until they reached the fifth floor and walked down to room 506. The door was partially opened so Gene rocked on it quickly before he pushed the door open the rest of the way.

 

“Where’s Babe?” Roe asked when he looked around the room and only found Sledge.

 

“He’s across the hall. Babe decided he wanted to be with Bill and Spina,” Eugene answered.

 

“What?”

 

“He seemed pretty dead set on it,” Eugene continued. “It wasn’t my place to try to talk him out of it.”

 

Roe turned on his heal and headed across the hall to 507; Roe remembered to knock on the door before he entered. He didn’t know what he expected when he entered the room but he didn’t think it was what he found. Bill was leaning against the windowsill, smiling and laughing with a picture in one hand and an opened beer in the other. Spina stood a couple feet away from him and looked much less amused than Bill. Babe was sitting on the edge of his bed but looked very different than he had half an hour ago. He too had a beer in his hand was laughing; there were tears in his eyes and Roe couldn’t help but think that not all of them were from laughter.

 

“How’s it going, guys?” Roe asked as he leaned against the doorframe and took in the scene.

 

“We’re, ah, we’re doing okay, Doc,” Bill answered with a sobered expression.

 

“That’s good to hear. I’ll leave you to your business then,” he said as he ducked out of the doorway.

 

“Gene, wait,” Babe said as he stood up and followed after him. Once in the hallway Babe closed the door behind him so that they could have a moment of privacy. Babe reached out, gripped Gene’s hand, and squeezed it tightly. “I just… I just wanted to thank you. For everything. You didn’t have to look after me like that.”

 

“Yeah I didn’t have to but I wanted to, Babe,” Gene said as he reached out with his unoccupied hand and placed it on Babe’s hip.

 

Babe smiled and nodded while his brown eyes began to water again. Sighing slightly, Babe leaned down and rested his forehead on Roe’s shoulder. For a long moment they stayed like that without speaking. Roe turned his head to the side slightly and gently kissed Babe’s temple; he felt Babe smile slightly against his shoulder.

 

“You doing okay?” Gene asked quietly.

 

“I’m getting there,” Babe sighed before he pulled his head away from Gene’s shoulder with a sniffle. “So… so day after tomorrow, me, Bill, and Spina, we gotta fly back to Philly.”

 

“Yeah, Bill told me.”

 

“I just… Gene, I don’t know how I can do this,” Babe muttered. “I’m gonna have to see Julian’s ma and dad… Gene, Henry’s funeral was bad enough. This is gonna be… I just don’t know how I’m gonna be able to do it.”

 

“It ain’t gonna be easy, Babe, but you got Bill and Spina and the rest of your family,” Gene said. “I’m sure they’ll help you through it.”

 

“… I wish you were gonna be there,” Babe admitted quietly.

 

“Do you really want me to come?” Roe asked; Babe nodded his head. “Well then I’m coming with you.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah,” Gene smiled. “Bill actually might have told your mother that she needed to order an extra ticket, told her you needed a _special friend_ to come back with you for support.”

 

“What?”

 

“He told me that if I wanted to or you needed me, there’d be a ticket waiting for me,” Roe continued. “Is that okay, Babe?”

 

“Yeah, it’s okay. Better than okay. It’s great,” Babe smiled before he let out a huff and shook his head. “Should’ve figured Bill would go and do something like this. Bill likes to think he’s not nosey or interfering but damn that kid is as bad as my Ma.”

 

“Not a bad thing though,” Gene said.

 

“Not all the time at least,” he said before he reached up and rubbed at his eyes; he felt exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go into his room and lay down, preferably with the Doc next to him, but he knew that when he stepped back into his dorm room he’d have to continue on with the difficult task.

 

“Babe, you okay?”

 

“Tired,” Babe mumbled as he moved his hands away from his eyes. “I gotta get back in there.”

 

“Let me know when you’re done?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Babe leaned forward and kissed Gene on the cheek before he opened the door and reentered his dorm room.

 

* * *

 

Two days later, Babe, Bill, Spina, and Roe had to leave for Philadelphia. Bill had planned on calling for a taxi but when news of that broke, Malarkey offered to give them a lift in his ancient station wagon. Tuesday morning, Babe, Bill, Spina, and Roe piled into Malarkey’s station wagon with Skip and Penk riding in the back with their baggage; Skip and Penk declared they needed a break from Hanks House and jumped into the back before anyone could fight them on it.

 

When the four boys left for Philadelphia, it felt as if a bit of the dust had finally been cleared from the wreckage felt in Hanks House. Everyone was still a lot more subdued than normally but there was definitely a lot more chatter and general noise heard within the building. For a few moments around lunch, everything seemed back to normal when Ray’s off-key rendition of Avril Lavigne floated up from the third flood bathroom. The feeling disappeared in an instance when the unfamiliar sound of George Luz’s angered shouts drifted down the hall.

 

“Damn,” Liebgott muttered as he stuck his head out of Web’s room and stared across the hall at the closed door of 511. “What’s got Luz all riled up?”

 

“I don’t know,” Webster shrugged. “I’ve heard him arguing on the phone with someone a couple times over the past couple days. Whoever it is won’t leave him alone.”

 

“I’ve never heard him this pissed before.”

 

“Not even when you, Martin, and Hoosier got wasted and ate all of the chocolate he had hidden in his room,” Webster reminded him with a smirk.

 

“We bought him more chocolate, Web,” Liebgott countered. “More than we took from him.”

 

Before Webster or Liebgott could escalate into a full-fledged argument they were disrupted by Lipton as he entered the fifth floor from the stairwell.

 

“Hey, boys,” Carwood greeted them as he passed by them.

 

“Hey, Lip. Hold up,” Liebgott called out to his retreating form.

 

“What’s up, Joe?”

 

“Do you know what’s up with Luz?” Liebgott asked as he jerked his thumb towards 511 where Luz’s angry tone could still be heard.

 

“Uh, yeah I think I know what’s the matter with George,” Carwood said slowly; he didn’t want to spread George’s personal business to the entire floor but everyone seemed to know everyone’s business around here. “I think he’s having few issues with his parents-”

 

Lipton’s words were cut off when George’s angry voice rose to a new level; the words were indistinct and muffled so no one was able to understand what he was so upset about. Liebgott let out a low whistled before he turned to Carwood and said, “Think Luz is having more than a few issues, Lip.”

 

* * *

 

Gene’s hand didn’t leave Babe’s for the entire plane ride back to Philadelphia. Babe was forever grateful to Bill for having the hindsight to invite Gene along with them; they weren’t even back in Philly yet and Babe was desperate to get on the next flight headed for California. Usually the process of getting off of the plane took too long for Babe but today it seemed like within a blink of the eye they were walking out into the terminal and Babe saw his and Bill’s mothers waiting for them.

 

“It’s okay,” Gene whispered when Babe bulked at the sight of the two women. “It’s gonna be okay.”

 

Babe nodded but didn’t believe it. Feeling sick, Babe slipped his hand out of Gene’s and walked toward his mother’s waiting arms. For a moment, wrapped his mother’s arms with his head rested on her shoulder, he felt okay but that fleeting feeling disappeared when he felt the shaking of his mother’s usually strong shoulders and heard the hitch in her breath. He felt his throat begin to constrict with grief and his eyes began to water; Babe needed to get out of there before he started to break down in public.

 

_Wouldn’t be the first time,_ Babe thought despairingly.

 

Anne Heffron eventually let go of her son but only to launch herself on an unsuspecting Gene Roe, who was almost knocked over by the force of the hug. The look of complete shock on Gene’s face was so entertaining to Babe that he managed to crack a smile.

 

“Bill told me how you took care of my Babe these last few days,” Anne said, her voice shook slightly but Babe didn’t see any tears escape her eyes. “I just want to thank you so much for everything you’ve done.”

 

“It was no problem, Mrs. Heffron,” Gene said as he returned the hug. “I’m happy to help.”

 

“You’re so sweet. I can see why my Babe’s latched onto you,” Mrs. Heffron said as she pulled away and gave Gene’s cheek a loving tap. “And enough with this ‘Mrs. Heffron’ business. Call me Anne or Ma.”

 

Together, the six of them left the airport and headed for Anne Heffron’s ancient minivan; it made Babe think back to his elementary school days. One of their moms would carpool them all to the local elementary school along with extraneous older and younger siblings. When it was his mother or Bill’s mother driving the drop-off order went Spina, then Julian, and then, as they were next door neighbors, Babe and Bill were last. Just like when they were kids, Spina was dropped off first, his mother and father were waiting at the curb before they pulled up, but unlike all those years ago there was no stop for Julian; it didn’t feel right.

 

It all felt like one big, awful blur to Babe. One moment he was in the back of the minivan next to Gene and the next he was sitting on the edge of his bed in house. He blinked and looked up to see Gene moving their luggage into the corner of the room. He looked down at the floor and found an air mattress.

 

“How are you feeling?” Gene asked when he noticed Babe watching him.

 

“Honestly I feel really disorientated,” Babe admitted.

 

“Yeah you seemed a little out of it,” Roe said before he walked around the blown up mattress and sat next to Babe on the edge of the bed. “I met your little sister. She seems sweet.”

 

“I think by sweet you mean ‘hyperactive’,” Babe said; if he hadn’t realized that Maggie was there when they got back he must have been really out of it.

 

“And one of your brothers…John?”

 

“He’s the youngest.”

 

“He looks just like you,” Gene smiled.

 

“He’s a good kid,” Babe muttered before he kicked at the mattress in front of him. “Guessing this is supposed to be for you?”

 

“Nah I figured you could sleep on that and then I’d take your bed,” Gene teased with a hint of a smile. “I am the guest here. Don’t you think I deserve something a little better than an air mattress?”

 

“You think I could maybe join you?” Babe asked. “This bed’s a little bigger than the ones at school. We could both fit.”

 

“I’m willing to test that theory.”

 

“Good. Because I could use a nap,” Babe sighed before he kicked off his tennis shoes and lifted up a corner of the blankets so that he could crawl underneath.

 

Gene toed off his own shoes, flicked off the light switch, and crawled under the covers next to Babe. Gene wrapped an arm around Babe and kissed the top of his head when Babe rested his head on his chest. Babe closed his eyes and silently begged for a dreamless sleep.

 

* * *

  

“Wait, wait, George, slow down,” Frank said with a shake of his head. “You’re parents are doing _what?_ ”

 

“Jesus Christ, Frank, it’s not fucking rocket science,” Luz snapped through a cloud of cigarette smoke as he sat perched on the windowsill.

 

“Sorry I just…I just can’t believe it,” Perconte mumbled from where he sat on top of his bed.

 

“Well believe it, Frank, because come tomorrow night you might have this entire room to yourself,” George sighed.

 

“No, George,” Frank said seriously. “As much as I would love to not have your crusty fucking socks all over my shit, I’d much rather have you and your mess over a whole room to myself any day.”

 

“I didn’t know you loved me so much, Frank,” George smiled.

 

“Shut up.”

 

“ _Yo! Luzalicious! You decent?”_ Ray person shouted through the door.

 

“Yeah, come in, Ray,” George said as he flicked his cigarette out the window.

 

“Damn, I was hoping to catch some illicit behavior,” Ray said as he walked into the room with Walt, Skip and Penkala trailing behind him.

 

“Dammit, Person,” Frank exclaimed as Ray jumped on top of Frank’s bed.

 

“What?  You don’t like to cuddle, Perco?”

 

“Not with scrawny, hyperactive-”

 

“Hey, hey, hey, Perco! Play nice with the other kids, alright?” George asked before he turned to look at Skip, Penk, and Walt. “What’s going on guys?”

 

“Just got an email about there being some sort of memorial service in a couple days,” Walt answered somberly.

 

“And while I’m sure the service is gonna be nice and respectful, we kinda thought that we should do something for him,” Penkala said.

 

“I mean we’re also planning on doing something nice and respectful,” Skip added. “I think Dick’s gonna start gathering money and we’re gonna send his family some flowers and stuff.”

 

“But let’s be real, homes, we ain’t the flower kinda guys,” Ray concluded.

 

“So what were you thinking of doing?” George asked as he lit himself another cigarette.

 

“I got some fireworks from my cousin over break and I was thinking we could go up to the roof and light the suckers. Maybe throw a party on the roof or go to the beach if it’s not fucking freezing,” Ray suggested. “Figured after the nicey-nice memorial they have planned in a couple days we could do that.”

 

“Well it sounds like a good plan to me but I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to be there for it,” Luz admitted quietly.

 

“Why the fuck not?” Ray asked. “Dude, I know these are dark times and I get being respectful but I also know that if we really wanna honor our boy we gotta do something fun.”

 

“It’s not that,” Luz grumbled. “So after… after this shit happened my parents got a little freaked out and long story short, my parents are coming here tomorrow to drag my ass back to Rhode Island.”

 

“What the fuck?” Ray exclaimed.

 

“They can’t fucking do that,” Walt argued.

 

“Like, they can’t legally do that, can they?” Penk asked. “You’re legally an adult, George. They shouldn’t be able to do anything.”

 

“Legally I’m an adult but I still feel like a fucking kid being yelled at by mommy and daddy,” George grumbled.

 

“So what are you gonna do?” Skip asked; he already knew that Luz’s parents wanted him to come home but he never expected for it to escalate to this.

 

“Gonna try and talk them out of it when they get here but besides that I don’t know.”

 

“You’re not leaving us, George,” Frank said.

 

“Yeah what would we do without you here?” Walt asked.

 

“Isn’t Buck planning on going to Law school? Do you think he knows and legal stuff that would keep Luz here?”

 

“Luz, man,” Ray said as he crawled around Frank so that he could reach out to touch George’s arm, “if it comes down to it. I will fight your mom. I don’t know if I can take your dad too but I’ll fucking try.”

 

“Thanks, Ray.”

 

“I’m here for you.”

 

“We’re all here for you, buddy,” Penkala said.

 

“They try to take you, they’re gonna have to go through all of us.”

 

“And just in case you are stuffed into a suitcase and dragged back to Rhode Island, I think maybe we should throw a little something tonight,” Ray suggested with a wide grin. “So you have something to remember us by.”

 

“Unfortunately if things go correctly you won’t remember anything,” Walt grinned.

 

* * *

 

Dinner that night at the Heffron house was subdued at best. His parents tried to keep smiles on their faces, happy to see their son back, but Babe couldn’t help but notice that whenever they looked at their plates or at each other their expressions faltered. Babe had a feeling the only thing that kept the dinner from falling completely silent was Gene. His parents asked Gene about his major, where he was from, and what his family was like. His brothers asked Gene questions about what he thought about PCU, how he and Babe met and if he had any embarrassing stories about their brother. Maggie, who was not even six-years-old, asked Gene about his favorite color, foods, and movies.

 

Babe felt bad that Gene had to deal with the constant flow of questions but whenever Babe attempted to stop the questions, Gene cut him off and said it was fine. He was grateful, so extremely grateful for Gene. Living in a packed house with Bill and his crazy family next door, Babe rarely had to deal with silence and he found that whenever he did, he wasn’t very good at it.

 

He didn’t know what he would do without Gene, what state of mind he would be in right now if he hadn’t had him at his side through it all. Babe knew Gene was important to him and as Babe squeezed Gene’s fingers under the table in a silent thank you, he knew that he needed his family to know too.

 

“Hey, Ma,” Babe said after dinner as he walked up to his mother, who stood in front of the sink, busy with the epic task of washing the dishes.

 

“Babe, I thought you and Gene were going for a walk.

 

“We are in a bit,” Babe said; it was Gene’s suggestion that they get out of the house for a bit and get some fresh air.  “I just… I just wanted to talk to you first.”

 

“Okay,” Anne said as she dried her hands on a dishtowel. “What about?”

 

“Um,” Babe stumbled as he leaned against the counter next to his mother with his eyes trained on the tiled floor. “So, you like Gene, right?”

 

“Yeah, of course, Babe. He seems like a very smart and kind young man,” she nodded before her voice became more somber. “Bill told me on the phone how much he helped you, how he was there for you whenever you needed him. Gene seems like a very good friend.”

 

_Friend,_ Babe thought while it felt as if his heart had lodged itself somewhere in his throat. _It’s now or never._

 

“He is a good friend,” Babe started off while he focused on a tiny hole in one of his socks. “But, but what if he were more than just a friend? More than like, a best friend too.”

 

“… You mean like a, a _boyfriend_?” Anne asked slowly; Babe could feel her eyes on the side of his face but he couldn’t look at her, not yet.

 

“Yeah,” Babe said; he felt proud when his voice came out strong and sure. “What if Gene was my boyfriend? Would you still like him then?” Babe felt his heart hammer in his chest and he had to squeeze his hands into fists to keep them from shaking. “Would you still like me?”

 

“Babe…”

 

“Because Ma, I gotta tell you,” Babe cut her off. He needed to get the words out before he lost his nerve. “I’m gay.” Babe paused to take a deep breath; once managed to get tell his mother the truth, the words just poured out of him. “I figured it out about a year ago and I wanted to tell you I just, I just didn’t know how. And yeah, I like Gene and he likes me and if that’s not cool with you or dad or anyone else in this family, well, that sucks but I’m not gonna change because of it. So if you want to disown me or be mad at me, go ahead because I’ve got Gene and Bill and Ralph and-”

 

“Babe,” Anne said in a strong voice that effectively cut her son off; Babe’s mouth snapped shut at the sound while the fear that had been temporarily pushed aside flooded into every pore of his body. “Babe, look at me.”

 

Not knowing what else to do, Babe forced himself to look at his mother. He saw tears in her eyes but they were accompanied by a smile. She reached out and gripped his hand tightly.

 

“Babe, it’s okay,” she said, looking straight into his eyes. “I promise. It’s _okay_. I love you. Your father will still love you, so will your brothers and your sister.”

 

“You’re not mad or upset?” Babe asked quietly, feeling very much like a small child once again.

 

“Why would I be upset, Babe? So upset that I’d disown you? What kind of mother would throw her child out on the street over something like this?” she asked with a shake of her head. “I love you. You are my baby boy and this is not going to change how I feel about you.”

 

Anne pulled Babe into her arms and held him tight, one arm wrapped around his back while she ran a hand through his bright locks. Babe all but collapsed on top of his mother as he rested his head on her shoulder; it felt as if all the energy had been sucked out of him.

 

“You know, I had a feeling there was something between you two,” Anne admitted with a smile as she ran her fingers through Babe’s hair.

 

“You did?” Babe asked as he pulled away from his mother enough to look at her.

 

“The way he looks at you? How could you two be just friends when there’s so much love in his eyes?” she asked with a smirk.

 

“ _Ma_ ,” Babe groaned as he ducked his head, feeling flustered.

 

“What? I’m just telling it how I see it,” she smiled as lifted Babe’s head so that he was looking at her. “And the way I see it, you’ve sure got one handsome boyfriend, Babe.”

 

“Ma, stop,” Babe begged as he stepped away from her.

 

“And Gene’s gonna be a _doctor?_ You sure know how to pick ‘em. It’s every mother’s dream for their child to marry a doctor. Clearly I raised you right,” she teased while Babe got more flustered by the minute.

 

“Okay, I’m getting out of here,” Babe grumbled as he turned to leave, his face flushed as red as his hair.

 

“Wait, Babe,” Anne said as she pulled her son back to her by his arm. Anne waited until Babe was standing in front of her again before she held his face in her hands and spoke. “Thank you for telling me. I’m glad you told me instead of keeping it in forever. I wish you told me sooner but I understand; it’s hard. I just need to make sure you know that I love you and I love you just as much as I did an hour ago.”

 

“I know, Ma,” Babe said while he felt his throat constrict again; dammit, he was sick of crying. “I love you too.”

 

“Good. Now go for that walk with Gene, relax, be safe, and I’ll see you in the morning. Okay?”

 

“Okay.”

 

* * *

 

When George woke up the next morning he found himself on one of the couches in the common room, which was now sufficiently trashed and filled with other unconscious residents of Hanks House. True to his word, Ray had thrown him an emergency going away party the night before; once news of Luz’s possible departure spread there was no stopping the idea of a going away party and it quickly became a group effort. True to Walt’s word, many memories from the previous night were fuzzy; he had a vague memory of Colbert about to tear them a new one but after Ray had explained the situation he had let them off easy and asked that they keep the noise to a minimum. Now George was left with a mild head ache, a dry mouth, and a t-shirt with the words ‘Save George Luz’ scribbled on it in magic marker.

 

Sitting up, George checked the time on his phone; it was almost eleven. His parents would be here in a couple hours. He figured that if things were to go belly up, he should at least get some things packed.

 

“Aw, hell, you’re not going anywhere, Luz,” Nixon told him an hour later from where he stood in the doorway of his dorm room. “Quit packing. They’re just blowing smoke.”

 

“They’re flying all the way out here,” Luz reasoned. “Most parents don’t pay a thousand bucks on plane tickets just to ‘blow smoke’.”

 

“Mine do,” Nixon shrugged as he took a sip from his flask; his hangover from this morning was still fighting him.

 

“I said most parents, Nix. Not every parent has money to blow like yours do.”

 

“He’s got a point, Lew,” Dick reasoned from where he stood near Luz’s desk. “They seem serious.”

 

“Okay, even if they are being serious, you can’t let them know that you know that,” Nixon insisted as he stepped further into the room. “You need to stop packing. I’m serious.”

 

“Why?” Luz asked as he angrily stuffed a t-shirt into a nearby duffle; he was tired of everyone giving their opinion: pack or don’t pack. How was anyone here supposed to know his parents better than he did?

 

“Because if I’m good at anything, it’s pissing parents off,” Nixon said honestly. “After dealing with Stan all my life, I’m a master at it. Don’t pack. If they get here and they see you’ve packed, they’ll know that you’ve already given in and that even if you try to fight them on it, it’s only a matter of time before you leave with them. But if they get here and see that nothings packed two things are gonna happen: they’re gonna get pissed and you’re going to get more time.”

 

“And what good is supposed to come out of pissing off my parents for a few more hours?” George sighed.

 

“A lot of good, Luz. With more time you to explain your situation, make your case, they can see what kind of place you live in, the boys can tug at their heart strings a little bit? Also if they see you haven’t packed they’ll realize they are gonna have to really fight you over this and you don’t intend on losing. Every packed bag they see is another point towards them and you can’t let do that; Give ‘em an inch, they’ll take a foot,” Nixon reasoned before he paused to take a sip from his flask. “I say you dump out Perco’s shit too. Make the mess as bad as possible. Don’t make it easy for them. Hell, we could get some other guys shit in here too. They want to take you, they’re gonna have to go through all of us.”

 

“You know sometimes your whole genius madman routine scares me but I gotta say I’m a little impressed right now,” Luz admitted slowly as he turned away from his bags and sat down on the floor.

 

“It’s a gift,” Nix shrugged. “So what do you say, Luz? You need help packing your bags or do you want me to start rounding up the guys to help run some defense against your parents?”

 

Luz stared at Nixon’s serious expression before he glanced at the few bags he had packed and grinned.

 

“I’m staying,” Luz declared before he reached for the closest bag and dumped it onto the floor.

 

“Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about,” Nixon cheered. “I’ll go tell the boys the plan.”

 

As Nixon walked out of the room, Dick moved towards Luz and offered him a helping hand up.

 

“I’m doing the right thing,” Luz said with certainty as he looked up at the taller man. “I belong here.”

 

“You belong here, George. There was never a doubt in my mind,” Dick agreed as he patted Luz on the shoulder. “We just have to make your parents understand.”

 

Time flew by too quickly for George. While he was resolute in his decision to stay and fight tooth and nail against his parents he couldn’t help but entertain the idea that these might be his final hours here in Hanks House. Four o’clock arrived much too soon for his liking and soon after Luz got a text from his parents that they would be at the dorm in ten minutes. Feeling as if he were about to head into battle, Luz headed down to the common room with the rest of the fifth floor in tow.

 

“This is about to be a fucking show down,” Ray declared as he sat down in an arm chair. “Everyone get their phones ready in case this turns into Jerry Springer.”

 

“Shut the fuck up, Ray,” Colbert sighed as he sat down next to Ray and grabbed the cell phone out of his hands.  “Just because several members of your white-trash, cousin fucking family are Jerry Springer alumnus doesn’t mean everyone else’s is.”

 

Whatever Ray said next, Luz didn’t hear, instead he focused on the front door where he could see his parents as they walked toward the building. His mother smiled when she saw him through the glass and his father gave a little wave but George refrained from any welcoming gestures. He fought the urge to keep them locked outside and let them inside; he may be pissed but he was at least going to attempt to be reasonable, for now at least.

 

“Oh, Georgie,” his mother said while she hugged her oldest child. “We missed you.”

 

“I was home a week ago, mom,” Luz said coolly; he could feel the entire rooms eyes on him and his parents and he wondered if his parents could feel the tension.

 

“We miss you when you’re gone for a day,” his mother retorted; Luz just barely managed to hold back a bitter comment on how they probably missed how well he wrangled the younger kids.

 

“So, is your stuff packed?” his father asked.

 

Luz saw a couple people shift out of the corner of his eye and he felt a touch of guilt hit him which he quickly shoved away. He was not going to back down. He loved Hanks House and Pacific Coast and he was not going to leave.

 

“Actually, dad, uh, no, my stuff is not packed,” Luz said as calmly as he could manage.

 

“Why the hell not?” he asked. “We gotta get outta here soon if we wanna make our return flight.”

 

“Well, gee, dad, I don’t think we’re gonna be able to get it all packed in time so maybe you and mom should just head back to the airport and go back home without me.”

 

“Why didn’t you pack your things, George?” his mother asked, sounding extremely annoyed.

 

“Probably because I didn’t want to, mom,” George asked bluntly. “I didn’t pack because I have absolutely no intention of getting on a plane with you guys tonight and heading back home. I’m sorry but I’m staying here.”

 

“George-!”

 

“You do realize your mother and I not only spent hundreds of dollars on plane tickets but we spent an entire day to get all the way out here?”

 

“Maybe I would feel sorry if I had given you any sort of inclination that I wanted you to come out here at all but I didn’t so, you know what, I’m not sorry. It was your choice to come out here when I told you explicitly several times that I did not want you to.”

 

“George, we talked about this-”

 

“ _We_ did not talk about this, mom. _You two_ talked about this. _I_ did not,” George said while he felt his anger bubble up inside of him. “You two talked over me repeatedly while I tried to explain the situation.”

 

“George we know the situation,” his father said with a shake of his head. “We understand you want to stay here with your friends but it’s unsafe. George it could have been you, instead of that other poor boy. Don’t you get it?”

 

“… Julian,” George said slowly while he felt something snap inside of him.

 

“What?”

 

“Julian. His name was Julian. The ‘poor boy’ that got shot? His name was John Julian and he was my friend and he lived down the fucking hall from me all last semester and you would have known that if you gave me ten fucking seconds to explain ‘the situation’ to you,” Luz snapped. He didn’t care that he was swearing at his parents and he didn’t care that their expressions were a mixture of sadness, shock, and anger. All he could register was that he had never been so angry in his entire life. “The situation is that some crazy madman decided to come to campus and start shooting and he killed my friend. That same crazy madman could have decided to jump on a plane and go to Rhode Island and done the same damn thing there.”

 

“George-!”

 

“Don’t say things like that!”

 

“It’s true though, mom, and you know it! If I went back home I could get hit by a fucking bus! Shit happens where ever you go! That’s life! You deal with it!”

 

“George,” his mother said in a loud and firm that she often used when the entire house was fighting with each other. “We’re very sorry about your friend. It’s such a horrible thing to happen and we’re sorry we didn’t give you a chance to tell us the full story. I realize that horrible things can happen anywhere but if something awful were to happen back home then at least you would be nearby.”

 

“It makes us nervous, you being all the way on the other side of the country. What if you got sick or there was an emergency in the family and you had to come back home?”

 

“Then we would deal with it if and when it happens!”

 

“George… George, do you really want to be so far away from your family?”

 

“These people are my family!” George bellowed as he gestured to the people around them. “These people aren’t just my friends, they’re my family, and no, I don’t want to be far away from them!”

 

“George…” his mother said softly; she looked a little heartbroken and George felt his anger begin to crumble.

 

“Mom, I don’t mean that you and dad and the kids aren’t my family. You guys are my family and I love you,” he backpedaled. “But I feel the same about the people here. I can’t leave them. I won’t. These people are my family too and I’m staying right here.”

 

For several moments, no one spoke. George stared at his parents and willed them to understand; they had always seemed like such reasonable and understanding people, he didn’t know how they could deny him this. He remembered how they had been hesitant to let him go so far away but after a month of fighting George had eventually worn them down. He just needed them to understand again; he couldn’t imagine leaving PCU, leaving all of his friends; just thinking about it killed him.

 

“Fine,” his mother sighed.

 

“What?”

 

“Fine. You can stay,” she said, sounding tired. “It was wrong of us to try to drag you back home.”

 

“Really?” Luz asked.

 

“Yes, really,” his mother said with a smile. “I’m sorry, Georgie.”

 

“We overreacted,” his father admitted quietly. “We just can’t help but worry about you.”

 

“Don’t worry, Mama and Papa Luz,” Ray exclaimed as he walked up to George and slung his arm around his shoulders. “Your baby boy is good hands.”

 

* * *

 

Babe felt sick and his hand hands shook when he tied his tie but surprisingly enough today was the most lucid he had felt since the shooting. He had woken up early with Gene at his side and could remember everything that had happened earlier today. Babe hoped this clarity was just a momentary fluke; he didn’t know if he could take having a clear memory today.

 

Today was Julian’s wake. Tomorrow there would be the church service and then the burial. Babe wasn’t sure which sounded worse.

 

“You okay?” Gene asked as he placed a comforting hand on the small of Babe’s back.

 

“I think I’m in denial,” Babe sighed as he looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror and checked his tie; it was still crooked but he couldn’t find the energy to care.

 

“It ain’t gonna be an easy day but I know you can do it,” Gene said.

 

“Two funerals in three months,” Babe said as he attempted to smooth down a tuft of hair on the back of his head that wouldn’t stay down. “This fucking sucks.”

 

“While I haven’t had to do two funerals back to back I have been to my fair share of funerals. I know it ain’t easy.”

 

“Your parents, right?” Babe asked as he turned away from the mirror and faced Gene; they had talked about it a little but nothing too in detail.

 

“My mom went when I was six and my dad when I was eleven,” Gene answered.

 

“Gene, I’m sorry. That must have been horrible.”

 

“Wasn’t exactly a picnic but my parents weren’t around that much so I guess it could have been worse,” he shrugged as he leaned against the bathroom sink. “Mom was sick a lot and when she wasn’t sick she was off on some trip half way across the country; free spirit like that. My dad tried though. I know he did. He just could never find work where we lived so he was always on the road. He called when he could, if he was in the area he would stop in but I probably only saw him three or four times a year.  My grandma and grandpa raised me; grandpa went when I was fourteen though; that was probably the worst one to be honest.”

 

“Before Henry I had never really had to go to a funeral. Henry’s was pretty hard… I don’t know how I’m gonna do this Gene,” Babe said while his mind began to break out of the odd calm he had felt earlier and he realized in half an hour he would be at one of his best friend’s funerals. “Is… I don’t know if it’s gonna be an open casket and his parents are gonna be there and what am I supposed to say to them, Gene? And, and… _fuck.”_

 

Babe pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes while he cursed under his breath; he just needed this day to be done with. Gene wrapped his arms around Babe and held him tight to his chest.

 

“Babe, no one’s gonna think differently of you if you can’t do this,” Gene said calmly while Babe buried his face in the collar of his white dress shirt. “If you need to leave, just let me know and we’ll get out of there, okay?”

 

“Okay,” Babe mumbled into Gene’s shirt.

 

There was a knock on the bathroom door and then Babe’s oldest brother, Joe, spoke through the door.

 

“You guys ready? Dad’s out starting the car.”

 

“Yeah,” Babe said as he pulled his face away from Gene and tried not to sniffle too loudly; he glanced into the mirror and saw his eyes were bloodshot again. “Be down in a minute.”

 

Fingers intertwined with Gene’s, the two of them grabbed their coats from Babe’s room before they went downstairs and headed for the car with the rest of the family. The parking lot of the funeral only had a few cars in it when they arrived but they were early. Babe and Gene were the last to get out of the car; it felt like every cell in his body was screaming at him to stay in the car, but with shaking knees and his hand gripping Gene’s so tightly he was sure it would bruise later, Babe entered the funeral home.

 

Babe kept his head down, he didn’t want to look around and see Julian’s poor parents standing devastated next to the coffin of their only child, he didn’t want to look at the casket, not yet, he didn’t want to know if it was open or closed, he couldn’t, not yet. Bill arrived a few minutes after them and stood with them in the corner until Spina arrived. Once the three of them were together they greeted Julian’s parents.

 

Julian’s father was openly crying and could barely speak. Julian’s mother’s grief seemed beyond tears and her voice was steady but Babe couldn’t see any emotion in her eyes. He didn’t know which one was worse.

 

The room quickly filled with people: close relatives Babe recognized, people from the neighborhood, a number of former high school classmates, and distant relatives he didn’t know. The room soon filled to claustrophobic proportions and then everyone was told to sit down. The four friends sat together in the second row and from his seat Babe had a clear view of the casket; he was able to register that it was open before he turned away and focused on one of the many flower arrangements around the room. He couldn’t focus on the service that was going on and before he knew it the row in front of him stood and got in line to view the casket. When it was time for Babe’s row to stand and get in line, he clutched desperately at Gene’s arm while he felt a sickening panic fill him up.

 

_Breathe, Babe,_ he told himself as he walked to the front of the room. _Breathe._

 

Bill was first out of the four of them. Babe could see Bill’s lips moving but couldn’t hear what he was saying. Like with Henry, Bill said goodbye with a tap against the coffin before he walked away. Spina was next. He didn’t speak but Babe could see that his friend was crying now; it felt like someone had punched him in the gut.

 

Babe let go of Gene’s hand, stepped forward, and looked down at the coffin.

 

It was Julian, dark hair, long, thin face, with his slightly larger than normal ears that stuck out a little, just as it had always been. It was Julian but at the same time it wasn’t. It looked like a wax model someone had made to look like his friend but whoever had made it didn’t know Julian well enough to get the minor details right. He looked too peaceful; it was unnatural. In all the years Babe had known Julian he had never seen the boy with his mouth closed or with a calm expression on his face; the boy always had his mouth open, didn’t matter if there was food in it, and even when sleeping there was a wide range of emotions up for display. The suit on Julian’s body stuck out like sore thumb in Babe’s mind. Julian never wore a suit; the best he could manage was a pair of slacks and a dress shirt with a tie and that was only after an hour of his mother fighting with him over it.

 

Babe felt as if he were attempting to find as many inconsistences between the body in front of him and the Julian he knew so that he could tell himself that this wasn’t his friend. Unfortunately the longer the stared the harder it was for Babe to tell himself it wasn’t Julian lying in that coffin. The next thing he knew he was crying and he knew he had to get out of there before he completely broke down. He wanted to say something before he left though, this would be the last time he would ever get to speak to Julian again. He couldn’t just leave without saying anything.

 

_But what?_

 

Babe felt a loss as to what to say. He should have put some thought into this, thought of something meaningful or profound to say, because now he was drawing a blank. Babe couldn’t think of anything deep or beautiful so he kept it short and simple.

 

“I’m really gonna miss you, Jules.”

 

* * *

 

“Babe, wake up, we’re almost there.”

 

Babe jerked awake and found Gene smiling down at him; he had fallen asleep on his shoulder and Babe was sure he had drooled on him.

 

“Sorry,” Babe mumbled as he sat up in his seat.

 

“It’s fine,” Gene reassured. “Think you’re finally getting used to planes?”

 

“No but I’ve found a way to fight them,” Babe mumbled as he rubbed at his eyes. “Just get on a plane exhausted and don’t fight it when you start to fall asleep.”

 

“Whatever works best.”

 

The four of them were headed back to Pacific Coast University now. After the wake and then the funeral they had stayed an extra day in Philadelphia to be with their families but now they needed to get back to school. Babe loved his family and his hometown but he was desperate for some distractions that only Hanks House could deliver.

 

The last few days had been tough, the toughest days of his entire life, but Babe had made it through it somehow. Babe knew that this would never be over, there would always be lingering pain and grief and it would be a struggle, but he felt that since he had made it through this past awful week, he could keep at it.

 

As the cab pulled up to the front of Hanks House almost two hours later Babe felt himself smile for the first time in days. Together they entered the building and were welcomed by a few respectful waves and smiles from the handful of people who sat around the area. Babe appreciated their reservation but after so many days of silence and politeness and everyone walking around on eggshells, he needed excitement and energy and possibly some obnoxious screaming; he needed his fifth floor.

 

“Welcome back, boys,” Dick greeted them as they entered the familiar fifth floor hallway. “Good to have you back.”

 

“Good to be back,” Babe said as he dragged his suitcase behind him.

 

Babe walked down the hall until he reached his dorm room, where he paused for a minute, feeling unable to enter it. He knew what was on the other side of it, he remembered taking down everything that was Julian and packing it into boxes, but Babe still froze.

 

_You can do this_ , Babe told himself as he let out a deep breath. _You’re going to have to go in there so do it now._

 

Babe pulled out his keys out of his pocket with a steady hand and opened the door. He let his bags drop in front of his bed before he collapsed on top of it. He didn’t look at Julian’s bare side; he couldn’t right now but he knew that one day he’d be able to. Healing took time. Babe closed his eyes and listened to the noises of the building: there were explosive noises from video games down the hall, several different types of music could be heard along with laughter and angered yelling; Babe was sure he could heard Brad Colbert yelling at Ray for something.

 

It made him smile.

 

“Hey, Babe, you awake?”

 

Babe opened his eyes and found Bill and Spina standing in the open doorway.

 

“What’s up?”

 

“I’m not sure why but all the guys are saying we gotta head down to the beach,” Spina answered with a shrug. “You up for it?”

 

“What?” Babe asked as he sat up. “Why?”

 

“I dunno but that’s what we were told,” Bill said. “But I guess if you’re not up to going out, they said that they could postpone it for another day.”

 

“Postpone what?” Babe asked as he got up off of his bed.

 

“No idea but it’s probably gonna be something interesting,” Spina said. “So what do you say?”

 

“Let’s go,” Babe said immediately.

 

Bill, Babe, and Ralph along with Gene, Malarkey, Buck, and Toye walked down to the beach together. When they finally arrived at the beach they found all the residents of Hanks House with music, barbeque, and drinks.

 

“What the hell is this?” Bill asked with a smile as people cheered at their arrival.

 

“We wanted to do something, for Julian, ya know,” Malarkey answered. “We tossed a couple ideas around but we settled on this. We figured Julian would have liked something like this, don’t you think?”

 

“We wanted to be respectful so of course we collected money and sent flowers,” Harry said as he walked up to them and handed them all a drink. “But this seems a little more Hanks House style, don’t you think?”

 

“I think it’s perfect,” Babe smiled as he stared out at everyone. “He would have loved it.”

 

“Good. We were a little worried you might not like it,” Dick said as he walked up to them.

 

“It’s great guys, really,” Bill agreed.

 

“Well, now that you’re here, I think we should have a moment of silence, don’t you think?” Dick suggested.

 

“Sounds like a good idea to me.”

 

The music was shut off, all conversation stopped, and everyone gathered around with a drink in hand. Together they raised their drinks and in unison they said ‘To Julian’. It was simple but it meant everything to Babe. After the moment of silence Babe expected the music to return and the conversation to start up again but instead he saw people exchange excited smiles; it made Babe nervous.

 

“What’s going on?” Bill asked as he looked around at everyone else.

 

“Check it out,” Buck said as he pointed to the something in the distance behind them.

 

Confused, they turned around and as they did the inky night sky exploded in an array of bright colors. In the distance Babe could hear the distinct shouts of glee that could only belong to Ray Person.

 

“Ray’s up on the roof with Luz, Skinny, Walt, and a ton of commercial grade fireworks right now,” Nixon answered with a smirk.

 

“And you’re letting this happen?” Spina asked Colbert who was standing nearby with a beer in hand.

 

“Person gets a pass on this one,” Brad shrugged. “The dumbass comes up with a decent idea every now and again.”

 

Babe turned back to the colorful night sky while everyone cheered and yelled. The music went back on and the crowd began to disperse but Babe stayed still. This last week had been the toughest week of his life but if he learned anything from the terrible experience it was that he had amazing family and amazing friends.

 

He was forever grateful for every last one of them. If he hadn’t had them there to constantly support him, Babe doubted he would have ever been able to get through all this. Babe knew it was ridiculous to think that the pain would ever go away and he didn’t know if he’d ever go another day without thinking of Julian but he was certain that as long as he had his friends at his side he would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't know when i'll update but I know that there will be one. Eventually.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valentine's Day takes center stage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's astounding how much you can write when you have no social life and ignore all your homework
> 
> just as a side note, this story takes place during the 2013-2014 school year, so V-Day's on friday. this also means that I am now officially a year behind schedule with writing this story. go me

* * *

“I’m sick of campus food, Joe. I don’t want to eat at the food hall again.”

 

“What’s wrong with the food hall, Web? It’s decent grub!”

 

“Do you know what’s even in that food, Joe? It’s filled with preservatives and calories and-”

 

“And I’ve already fucking paid for it with my meal plan so why spend more money somewhere else? I’m not fucking made of money.”

 

“Remind yourself of that in the future when you’re paying thousands of dollars in hospital bills because of health choices you made now.”

 

“Now is the time to make shitty decisions, Web. That’s the whole point of your twenties.”

 

“The point of your twenties is-”

 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Leckie growled; even with his head phones in and the music turned up to a deafening volume he could still hear his roommate and Liebgott bicker.

 

Leckie pulled his head phones out of his ears, grabbed his cell phone, and rushed out of the room as fast as he could. Feeling irritated, he stomped down the hall until he heard a voice call out to him. Leckie turned and found a number of guys all shoved into Lip and Jay’s room.

 

“What’s up?” Leckie asked as he leaned against the doorway and glanced at the guys scattered about the small room.

 

“We were trying to guess what they were fighting about,” Luz said as he jerked a thumb in the general direction of 512. “Care to let us know the answer? We’ve got bets going.”

 

“You mean you can’t hear it from down here?” Leckie grumbled as he took a step inside and collapsed on the floor.

 

“It gets a little muffled down here,” Jay said.

 

“Lucky you. Even with my music set to a volume I’m sure has done irreparable damage to my ear drums, I could still hear them clear as day,” Leckie huffed before he turned to the awaiting crowd and answered. “They were fighting over where they wanted to go for lunch. Who knows what they’re fighting about now though…”

 

“Ha! Told ya, Jay!” George exclaimed. “Pay up.”

 

“Don’t they ever get sick of arguing?” Jay grumbled as he pulled a five dollar bill out of his wallet and slapped it into Luz’s outstretched hand.

 

“Apparently not.”

 

“They’re like an old married couple,” Malarkey decided. “Their only form of communication is through yelling.”

 

“And poor Leckie is the child caught in the crossfire,” Luz said sympathetically.

 

“Him and Snafu,” Penkala reminded them; Snafu _was_ Liebgott’s roommate after all and got his fair share of their bickering.

 

“Now what a handsome family that is,” Luz mused as he pulled out a pack of Lucky Strikes and placed one in-between his lips.

 

“George,” Lipton said in a quiet but firm voice as he stared at the cigarette that dangled out of the corner of Luz’s mouth.

 

“I know, I know, Lip, I’ll go to the window,” George said with wave of his hand. “Just looking for my lighter.”

 

“I think they’re getting worse,” Leckie piped up as Luz made his way to the window and opened it.

 

“What was that, Leck?” Skip asked.

 

“Lieb and Web. I think their fighting has gotten worse over this past month,” Leckie said. “If this shit gets worse, I swear to God I’m gonna lose it.”

 

“Well, better find someplace else to crash for the next week or two because I get the feeling the shit is about to hit the fan,” Luz said from where he was perched on the window.

 

“Why do you say that?”

 

“Look at the calendar, Leck,” Luz said as he motioned to the calendar Lipton had pinned over his desk. “It’s February. Almost Valentine’s Day. The day when completely normal and mild mannered couples lose their fucking shit.”

 

“He’s right,” Malarkey said. “Valentine’s Day brings out the worst in couples.”

 

“Ya know if you really need an escape there’s an open floor in mine and Penk’s room,” Skip offered. “I’ll even move my dirty socks for you.”

 

“I may have to take you up on that offer.”

 

“If you ask me, you and Snafu should band together as fellow pissed off roommates and revolt against them,” Luz suggested with a grin.

 

“I would _love_ to watch that fight,” Skip said slowly with wide eyes.

 

“I’m not going to physically fight them, Skip,” Leckie said, rolling his eyes.

 

“You say that now,” Skip warned. “Let’s see how much worse it gets by Friday.”

 

“Shit, big day really is Friday,” Luz mumbled around his cigarette as he checked the calendar again. Grinning, he turned to look at Lipton. “Hey, Lip. You got any plans with the ole’ ball and chain for Friday?”

 

Everyone in the room turned to look at Lipton, who, even with his head downturned, had a clearly visible red flush across his face. Carwood pretended to be busy on his phone for a moment before he mumbled, “Shut up, George.”

 

There were a couple other teasing phrases thrown at Lipton but he didn’t pay them much attention; his mind was somewhere else completely.

 

Valentine’s Day. He hadn’t given the day a single thought; he hadn’t really had much time to. He and Ron had only gotten together on New Year’s and then everything that had happened over the last month, with Julian and school in general, everything moved too fast and now Carwood couldn’t help but wonder: did he have any Valentine’s Day plans with Ron?

 

* * *

 

 

“I’ll call the restaurant,” Dick said while he worked on a homework assignment at his desk. “Hopefully there aren’t filled up by now.”

 

“Already did it,” Lewis said with a victorious grin from where he laid sprawled out on top of Dick’s bed.

 

“What?” Dick asked as he turned around in his chair to look at his boyfriend. “We only just decided.”

 

“Yeah, _we_ did,” Lewis said as he sat up. “But I kinda figured you’d agree with me so I called and reserved a spot for us two weeks ago.”

 

It was Valentine’s Day on Friday. It would their first Valentine’s Day together and Lewis would be lying if said he hadn’t put a lot of thought into this date. Nixon loved Dick, sometimes so much it felt overwhelming, and he wanted to make sure the other man knew that, even if Nixon had to spell it out with every box of chocolates or dozens of roses or any other Valentines clichés he could get his hands on. That was why weeks ago he had secured a reservation for two at one of the nicest restaurants in the area. It was an expensive place but Dick was worth every last penny.

 

“You guys decent?” Harry’s voice called through the closed dorm room door.

 

“Yes,” Dick answered, sounding a little exasperated.

 

“Nope! Run while you still can, Welshie!” Nix called out at the same time.

 

A moment later Harry walked into the room, dropped his heavy back pack on the floor, and collapsed on top of his own bed.

 

“So what’re you guys up to?” Harry asked as he kicked off his tennis shoes and flung them towards the far corner of the room.

 

“Talking about our plans for Friday,” Dick answered with a smile.

 

“Well whatever you two have got planned, I’m sorry, but I’m gonna blow it out of the fucking water with what I have planned for me and Kitty,” Harry declared proudly.

 

“No offense, Harry, but I don’t wanna hear about you and Kitty plan to get up to this weekend,” Nixon shuddered. “I don’t need that imagery in my brain.”

 

“Like I would even think to tell you,” Harry scoffed. “You’d probably take my ideas and use them on him.” Harry jerked his thumb towards Dick. “No. I’ve been planning this night for a while and I’m keeping my mouth shut.”

 

“Probably the first time that’s ever happened,” Nixon said with a smirk.

 

“Oh fuck of Nixon,” Harry exclaimed as he threw a dirty sock in his direction.

 

After the seriousness that had plagued Hanks House and Pacific Coast University during the month of January, everyone seemed desperate for something light hearted and relaxing. As January bled into February, the holiday offered everyone a little bit of an escape, even if they didn’t have a significant other to celebrate it with. Everyone in Hanks House was busy making plans for that Friday night, or well, _almost_ was.

 

* * *

 

David glanced across the table and covertly looked up at Joe, who was too engrossed in his sandwich to notice Webster. David returned his focus to his hands and his partially eaten Caesar salad and let out a quiet sigh.

 

 _Just fucking say it_ , David told himself. _Just-_

 

“Jesus Christ, Web,” Joe growled in exasperation as he paused in the middle of his sandwich to look at David. “Out with it.”

 

“What?” Webster asked in confusion.

 

“Don’t play dumb,” Joe said. “You’ve got something you wanna say, have all freaking day. Now spit it out already. You’re upsetting my appetite.”

 

While David doubted anything could really dampen Liebgott’s impressive appetite he kept the thought to himself. Instead he braced himself and said what had been eating at him for the last few days.

 

“Joe, are we doing anything Friday?” David asked.

 

“What do ya mean, Web?” Joe asked as he returned his attention back to his sandwich.

 

_Is he fucking serious?_

 

“I mean are we doing anything for Valentine’s Day?” David said slowly; did he really have to spell it out for him?

 

“ _Valentine’s Day?”_ Joe asked in a tone people tended to use when talking about shitty weather or an eight o’clock Calculus class. “Really, Web?”

 

“What?” David asked, annoyed with Joe’s reaction.

 

“Are you serious?”

 

“Yeah I’m serious, Joe,” Webster retorted while he felt his anger rise inside of him. “Why the fuck not?”

 

“Jesus Christ,” Joe groaned as he sat back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest.

 

“We _are_ dating, right?” David reminded him, which earned him an eye roll from Joe. “Couples do stuff on Valentine’s Day.”

 

“Cheesy couples do,” Joe sneered.

 

“What’s wrong with being a cheesy couple every now and again?” David asked, his voice rising.

 

“Pff, do you hear yourself, Web? You wanna be like fucking Welsh and Kitty or, hell, even Winters and Nix? Following each other around with puppy dog eyes all day long?”

 

“I’m not saying we have to be like that all the time, Joe, I’m just saying it might be nice if we actually acted like a real couple every now and again-”

 

“So is there some magical rule book on how to be a ‘real couple’ that I missed or what? Because I didn’t think there were rules on couple-y shit.”

 

“Joe this is probably the most couple-y shit we do,” David argued.

 

“Really because I’m sure what we did on Leckie’s bed the other day was kinda-”

 

“Oh my God, Joe, just stop being-”

 

“Being what?”

 

“So fucking _juvenile_ ,” Webster countered.

 

“Oh what the fuck ever, Web,” Joe growled. “You see this is why we’re not going out Friday. We’d get fucking kicked out of any place we went.”

 

“Maybe if you tried to act more mature-”

 

“So now this is my fucking fault?”

 

“Pretty much, Joe-”

 

“Okay, you know what, Web, Valentine’s Day ain’t even a real fucking holiday anyways,” Joe exclaimed, which gained several eyes from neighboring tables. “It was made up by the greeting card companies to steal your money.”

 

“Wow, such a romantic you are,” David said scathingly. “Don’t know why I ever thought you would want to do something for Valentine’s Day.”

 

Feeling annoyed and angry, David rose from his seat and stormed away from the table while Joe yelled things at his retreating backside. Ignoring everyone’s eye, Webster stormed out of the food hall and headed back towards Hanks House.

 

What the fuck was Joe’s problem? Was it really so hard to go out someplace with him and pretend to be a real couple for once? David had never been in a relationship before so he didn’t have much to go on but he figured that relationships should have some sort of compromise.

 

 _They should probably also involve some sort of maturity_ , David thought to himself as he stomped up the Hanks House stairwell up to the fifth floor.

 

When Webster entered his dorm room he thankfully found it empty so he had no reason to try to stop his anger. Webster kicked off his shoes, not caring where they landed, and collapsed on top of his bed. He grabbed one of his pillows and angrily flung it against the wall. He heard it connect with something that clattered to the ground but he didn’t care what it was at the moment.

 

He wanted to stay angry. He wanted to go back to the food hall and find Joe and yell some more. He wanted to grab his remaining pillow and scream into it until his voice went hoarse. He wanted to stay angry. If he didn’t stay angry Joe would do what he always did: let Webster fume for a few hours before he came back and acted as if everything was fine. He wanted to stay angry. He wanted Joe to understand that he was actually upset.

 

He wanted to fucking go out on a proper date with his boyfriend on Valentine’s Day.

 

Webster felt himself deflate, all of his anger and annoyance escaped him and he was left feeling hurt and completely disappointed. David hadn’t said it out loud or hinted towards it at all but he had been secretly hoping for plans on Friday. It didn’t even have to be anything spectacular, just a bite to eat somewhere that wasn’t the dining hall. Was that so much to ask?

 

David had expected a little resistance when he asked- when had Joe Liebgott ever met him without resistance? -but the ensuing argument was a gross overreaction on Joe’s part. David knew that sometimes he overreacted to things Joe said or did and when he did he apologized. Joe on the other almost never apologized for blowing up in his face and instead chose to let Webster cool off before talking to him again.

 

David was sick of it.

 

* * *

 

“Got any plans?” Eugene asked.

 

“What was that?” Babe asked as he tore his eyes away from the epic air hockey match going on in front of them; Buck and Toye had been locked in battle for the better part of an hour and several residents of Hanks House sat around the common room to watch them duke it out.

 

“Got any big plans with the Doc for Friday?” Eugene asked with a knowing wink. “It’s your first Valentine’s Day together. Got anything special planned?”

 

“Oh, piss off, Sledge,” Babe said, his face quickly becoming the color of his hair.

 

“Just curious is all,” Eugene said with a hand raised in surrender. “Is that such a crime?”

 

“Well you know what they say,” Babe huffed. “Curiosity killed the ginger.”

 

“That applies to you too, you do realize,” Eugene said as he reached out and ruffled Babe’s red locks; Babe immediately swatted Eugene’s hand away.

 

“No because I’m smart enough to keep my big nose outta things that don’t include me,” Babe said as he reached out and attempted to flick Eugene’s nose.

 

“Hey! Get out of here!” Eugene exclaimed as he slapped his friend’s hand away, causing Babe to laugh.

 

Eugene couldn’t help but smile when he heard the noise; Babe’s laughter was still a little hard to come by these days. It had been a month since Julian’s passing and while Babe had improved drastically since then he was still much more subdued than this usual self.

 

“We sort of have plans,” Babe mumbled as he stared at his hands and the color returned to his cheeks. “It’s nothing fancy.”

 

“Doesn’t have to be fancy,” Eugene said. “As long as you’re having a good time, that’s what’s important.”

 

“We’re just gonna relax in my room, I guess,” Babe continued, still keeping his eyes downturned. “Gonna watch a movie, maybe order some take out or something… should be nice.”

 

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Eugene said. “Might have to steal that idea.”

 

“Who you got plans with, Eugene?” Babe asked with wide eyes.

 

“No one,” Eugene said with a roll of his eyes.

 

“Uh huh, sure,” Babe said skeptically.

 

“I was just planning on staying in and relaxing Friday so I think I’m gonna follow your lead, pick out a movie and do nothing for a while.”

 

“All by yourself?” Babe persisted. “You ain’t got any secret plans you’re hiding from me?”

 

“Why would I do that, Babe?” Eugene asked. “Got nobody. Got no plans.”

 

“Whatever you say, Sledge,” Babe said with a shake of his head as he turned back to the deadlocked air hockey match.

 

* * *

 

“This sucks,” Skip sighed while he stared up at the ceiling of his dorm room, phone pressed solidly to his ear.

 

 _“I know_ ,” Faye said sympathetically through the phone. “ _I’m sorry.”_

 

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.”

 

_“But I feel like it is.”_

 

“Stop. It’s not your fault that you need to practically sell a kidney to afford plane tickets and it’s not your fault that minimum wage jobs don’t pay shit so in order to buy plane tickets you need to sell an organ,” Skip persisted. “Besides, you probably need Spring break to catch up on work before finals.”

 

 _“I’d rather be there with you than studying,”_ Faye murmured; Skip could picture the dejected look on her face and it hurt him to think of her like that.

 

“It’ll be okay,” Skip assured her. “Besides, you wouldn’t have wanted to stay here in mine and Penk’s room. It reeks of old socks and Fritos.”

 

_“I would have done it for you.”_

 

“And that’s how I know you love me,” Skip smiled. “Only love could make a person crazy enough to willingly sign up for this torture.”

 

The line went quiet as Skip closed his eyes. Faye had called to let him know that after looking at the numbers for days she realized that it would be impossible to afford the plane tickets she needed to fly out for Spring Break. Skip planned on staying in California for the break, it just seemed like too much trouble to fly out and back for just a week, but after this news he seriously considered grabbing his laptop and searching for the cheapest flight back to New York.

 

The news was a serious blow for Skip. Even after just a month apart he missed Faye desperately and the idea of Faye visiting in a month had been a key driving force to him.

 

“ _Long distance sucks_ ,” Faye finally spoke.

 

“Wish you could be here for Friday,” Skip sighed finally, feeling defeated. “It’ll be our first Valentine’s Day apart.”

 

 _“I know_ ,” Faye said sadly. “ _But we’ll make it work. We’ll skype. We’ll put on a movie at the same time and it’ll be like we’re watching it together.”_

 

“But I wanna do more than watch a movie with you,” Skip said quietly. “I wanna take you out. I wanna do something fun… I want you to be here.”

 

“ _And I wanna be there but this is just something we have to work around. We’ve been doing pretty well working through it these last few months, I think we can keep at it.”_

“I know. It just…”

 

 _“Just what?”_ Faye asked.

 

“It _sucks,_ ” Skip sighed. “It’s just that being here at PCU is almost perfect. I love it here and I’ve made so many amazing friends. It’s better than I could have imagined… I just wish you were here with me. Then it’d be perfect.”

 

_“Well unfortunately, Skip, this is the real world and perfect doesn’t really happen.”_

 

“Why can’t it though? Why not just once? Is that so much to ask?”

 

“ _Skip, I want nothing more than what you’re asking for_ ,” Faye said quietly. “ _I just can’t-”_

“Faye, I know,” Skip said quickly. “I know you can’t move out to California, change your whole life, just for me; that’s ridiculous.”

 

 _“Not so ridiculous that I haven’t thought about it,”_ Faye said quietly.

 

“What?”

 

 _“Come on, Skip. Of course I’ve thought about it. How could I not? Who wouldn’t think about going to school in sunny California to be closer to her boyfriend, especially when you’re staying on the other side of the country in the state with what must be the shittiest weather ever?_ ”

 

“California does have better weather than Tonawanda,” Skip agreed.

 

 _“We’re just gonna have to deal with this_ ,” Faye persisted quietly. _“I’ll keep saving so that I can visit one day, we’ll make use out of our unlimited phone plans and skype and all the other new-fangled technological advances we have at our disposals and we’ll keep at it. And one day we won’t have all this space in-between us anymore.”_

 

“Just wish that day was a little closer,” Skip murmured.

 

_“Me too. But when that day comes, I’ll be worth the wait.”_

 

“It’ll be the best day ever,” Skip smiled before he glanced at the clock; it was just after seven at night. Putting into account time zones it was just after ten at night back in New York. “It’s getting late, Faye.”

 

 _“It is not_ ,” Faye protested. “ _It’s seven o’clock there.”_

 

“Yeah and it’s ten o’clock back home and I know for a fact you’ve almost overslept and missed your eight o’clock three times already. You need to get to sleep.”

 

 _“Fine,”_ Faye pouted. “ _I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”_

 

“Can’t wait,” Skip said. “I love you.”

 

_“Love you too.”_

 

“Goodnight.”

 

_“’night.”_

 

Skip waited until he heard the click of the line before he moved his phone away from his face. Whenever he talked to Faye he was always left with an odd mix of emotions. He was happy of course, so very happy to have gotten a chance to hear her voice but he also was left with an empty feeling; he needed more than just her voice. Skip missed her smile and seeing the tiny crinkle that formed by her eyes when she smiled, he missed her smell and her warmth, missed her hair tickling his cheek when she sat next to him and rested her head on her shoulder. He missed Faye so much.

 

“June,” Skip mumbled to himself. “June isn’t that far away. And then we’ll have the summer.”

_And then summer will be over and you’ll be back here_ , Skip couldn’t help but remind himself.

 

Skip knew that he would never regret coming to school here, not after all the great friendships he had formed after such a short time, but this whole long distance thing made him constantly ask himself if the pain was all worth it.

 

“What the hell are you doing lying alone in the dark?”

 

Skip turned toward the now open door and found a familiar silhouette standing there; it was Alex.

 

“I was talking to Faye,” Skip answered.

 

“What’d she do? Break up with you?” Alex asked as he flicked on the lights which caused Skip to feel as if he had been temporarily blinded.

 

“No, asshole,” Skip said as he rubbed at his eyes. “I just miss her, okay?”

 

“Poor thing,” Penk said dryly as he tossed his book bag near his bed and sat down at his desk. “In case you forgot it was your idea to come all the way out here; something about wanting a change and meeting new people and all that bullshit.”

 

“And I’m glad I came here, Penk, and I know you are too because if I never decided to come out here neither would you,” Skip countered. “Is it such a crime for me to miss my girlfriend?”

 

“No but what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t make fun of you for it.”

 

“A good one,” Skip grumbled before he sat up on his bed and turned to face his best friend. “But guess what?”

 

“Hmm?” Alex asked as he busied himself with someone on his laptop.

 

“Faye told me she can’t afford to make it out here for Spring Break,” Skip said despairingly. “Now I won’t see her until June.”

 

“That sucks man,” Penk said as he began typing away at his computer.

 

“One of the reasons I consider you my best friend is because of your boundless amounts of empathy and compassion,” Skip said dryly.

 

“So are you gonna make it through Friday? Or am I gonna have to hide all the sharp objects in the room?”

 

“Ha, ha, you’re so funny,” he said sarcastically.

 

“I try.”

 

“You fail. And I’m gonna be fine,” Skip declared. “We’ve got plans.”

 

“Phone sex?” Alex asked. “Nice.”

 

“You’re not invited.”

 

“You’re no fun,” he sighed. “Whatever you’ve got planned, I’m gonna just stay far away from this room, probably for the whole weekend. I don’t want to know what you’re getting up to in here all by yourself.”

 

“How kind of you.”

 

“Hey, I’m just trying to keep my eyesight and what’s left of my sanity,” Penkala said. “I don’t want to lose those just because I walked in here while you’re in the middle of something.”

 

“Self-preservation will get you far in life.”

 

“That’s what I’m banking on.”

 

* * *

 

“Why the hell are you being so pissy, Web?” Joe asked. “It your time of the month or something?”

 

David paused long enough in the middle of typing his paper to send a glare at Joe over his shoulder. He hadn’t been speaking to Joe since their fight yesterday; he didn’t even respond to Joe’s texts. Joe, clearly fed up with the silent treatment, had burst into his room five minutes ago and demanded to know what his problem was.

 

“I just want to know why you’re acting like a fucking child with this silent treatment bullshit,” Joe continued. “Ya know, for someone who claims that I’m being fucking juvenile, I would have expected you to not throw a fucking tantrum.”

 

“Do you really need me to fucking spell out why I’m mad, Joe,” David asked, breaking his silence as he turned in his desk chair to face his boyfriend.

 

“Clearly.”

 

“Well I’m not gonna fucking do that, Joe,” David persisted. “Use your fucking brains and try to figure it out yourself.”

 

“Oh what the fuck ever, Web,” Joe hissed as David turned back to his assignment. “This is bullshit.”

 

David wanted to shout about how the situation was indeed bullshit but he bit his tongue and kept working. He wasn’t going to rise to Joe’s bait and wasn’t going to spell out the situation for Joe. If he really wanted to know what was wrong he needed to figure it out for himself; David wasn’t gonna fucking hold his hand and make a fucking PowerPoint for him.

 

“Fine, Web,” Joe growled. “If you ain’t gonna tell me, I’m not gonna stand here like a jackass trying to work it out of you. Feel free to fucking text me when you’ve decided to act like a fucking adult.”

 

Joe exited the room and slammed the door behind him. How dare Web call him immature and then pull a bullshit stunt like this? It was bullshit. If he tried to pull some shit like this he’d had his ass reamed out for hours.

 

Damn, he needed a smoke.

 

“Yo! Joe!” someone called out to him as he passed by an open doorway.

 

Joe paused before he backtracked and saw who had called out to him. A number of guys were sitting in Muck and Penkala’s room, clearly in the middle of lunch.

 

“What?” Joe asked.

 

“You okay?” Luz asked through a large mouthful of food.

 

“Fuck yeah, I’m fine,” Joe snapped. “It’s just… why the fuck is Web being all fucking pissy with me?”

 

“Isn’t he always kinda like that?” Skinny asked.

 

“I guess but usually he’s not like this for this long,” Liebgott grumbled. “Usually by now he’ll talk to me again.”

 

“Sounds like trouble in paradise,” Luz mused.

 

“If that’s paradise I don’t want to fucking know what hell looks like,” Perconte stated.

 

“This is old fucking news to me,” Babe shrugged. “Spent years dealing with Bill and Fran’s bitching in my ears. You learn to block it out.”

 

“Oh, kiss my ass, Babe,” Bill said with a roll of his eyes. “Give it a couple of years and you and the doc will be sounding like the rest of us old married couples.”

 

There was a chorus of teasing comments about Babe and the Doc from some of the guys while Babe’s ears quickly turned a bright red. Luckily, Spina was there to help redirect the attention away from his friend.

 

“It’s okay, Babe,” Spina said as he wrapped an arm around Babe’s shoulders. “Bill’s just being a dick because he’s heartbroken over being away from Frannie on Valentine’s Day.”

 

“Am not,” Bill deflected maturely.

 

“Even caught him tearing up while talking on the phone with her the other day,” Spina continued.

 

“Was not, you jackass. It was fucking windy outside. Makes your eyes tear up; you can’t stop that shit.”

 

“Uh, huh, sure.”

 

“It’s okay to cry, bro,” Ray said as he reached out and slapped Bill’s shoulder. “You’re still even if you shed some tears over being apart from your significant other. Hell, I heard Bradly crying the other night because he misses his boyfriend and he’s still as big and hulking as ever. Let it out man. It’s all good.”

 

“Thanks for the advice, Person. We’ll keep that in mind.”

 

* * *

 

“Who are you texting, Lucky?”

 

“Hmm?” Leckie asked as he looked up and found Runner, Chuckler, and Hoosier staring at him.

 

Leckie and the boys were sitting around Hoosier’s dorm room Tuesday morning in their gap between classes. Hoosier and Chuckler had been busy talking about some exam they had coming up but Leckie stopped paying attention; all of his focus was on the phone in his hands while he texted Vera, who he was supposed to meet up with soon so that they could walk to class together.

 

“Probably a girl,” Chuckler mused with a grin. “He hasn’t been paying attention to a single thing that’s been going on.”

 

“Fuck off,” Leckie said with a roll of his eyes.

 

“Who is it?” Runner pressed. “Just tell us.”

 

“Why are you so fucking curious?” Leckie asked as shoved his phone into his pants pocket.

 

“Because the only other time you look like that while texting is when you’re texting Hoosier and he’s right fucking here,” Runner said as he jerked a thumb to the blond-haired man.

 

“Not my fault everyone wants me,” Hoosier drawled through a cloud of cigarette smoke.

 

“Come on, Leck,” Runner pleaded. “I’d tell you if it were me.”

 

“Since you’re so damn persistent,” Leckie relented, “I’m texting Vera.”

 

“Vera? That girl from the second floor?”

 

“I saw you guys walking together the other day,” Chuckler said with a grin. “You two looked pretty chummy to me. Are you friends or…?”

 

“Jesus Christ you guys are the nosiest motherfuckers ever,” Leckie cursed as he fished his phone out of his pocket again; Vera had just texted him again.

 

“Deflecting from answering? That’s a yes,” Hoosier smirked.

 

“We’re just friends,” Leckie insisted as he smiled at his phone.

 

“Only because you’re too much of a wimp to ask her out,” Hoosier countered. “Just be a man and ask her out or turn your damn phone off; I’m tired of watching you texting away in the corner over there.”

 

“I’m not gonna ask her out,” Leckie protested.

 

“Why not? You clearly like her don’t you?” Runner said. “She’s really cute too.”

 

“What have you got to lose, Leckie?” Chuckler asked.

 

Truthfully Leckie wanted nothing more than to take Vera out on a proper date, for him to be able to call her his girlfriend, to do something as simple as hold her hand while they walked to class but whenever he thought about pulling the trigger and asking her out for real, not just a casual lunch between friends, he hesitated. He didn’t want to admit it but ever since Stella and the emotional shit show that ensued he had felt a little uncertain about dating someone.

 

“Jesus Christ, just go and ask her out,” Hoosier grumbled with a roll of his eyes. “It’s only a matter of time before you snap and do it so let’s just speed up the process up some before I lose it watching you two dance around each other.”

 

“Why don’t you take a nap, Hoosier, you’re getting cranky,” Leckie said as he stood up, grabbed his book bag, and headed for the door.

 

“Where are you running off to?” Runner asked.

 

“Unlike you, miscreants, I actually go to class from time to time,” he retorted as he exited the room.

 

As Leckie walked from Hoosier’s room to Vera’s he couldn’t help but think of what his friends had said. Chuckler had asked what he had to lose if he asked Vera out. Well, Leckie figured, there was the chance that Vera rejected him and things between them grew too awkward for them to continue to being friends at all. Sure, he had only been talking to Vera for a month now but the past month, he couldn’t remember the last time he felt better. Could he risk losing that?

 

The walk to class was quick and Vera filled it with a small venting session over an unfairly graded exam and a stubborn T.A. who wouldn’t listen to her so Leckie didn’t have to talk much. He could barely focus on what their professor was saying and only managed to jot down a handful of notes that were probably useless. He couldn’t focus on school work; he could only focus on the battle raging in his head: should he or shouldn’t he?

 

“Bob, are you alright?” Vera asked as they walked back to Hank House after class.

 

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” Leckie shrugged.

 

“You seemed really out of it in class today,” Vera continued. “I know Professor Renker is a little dry but usually you have a little more life in you.”

 

“I guess I’ve just got a lot on my mind,” he answered as they entered the dorm building. “School work, exams, nothing to worry about.”

 

“Well that’s good,” Vera smiled as they started to climb the stairs; Leckie followed after her when she headed for the second floor hallway. “So… are you doing anything interesting for Friday?”

 

“Uh, no. No I don’t have any plans,” Leckie stuttered while he felt as if his heart had skipped a beat. “You?”

 

“No,” Vera answered as she paused in front of her dorm room door. “I’m free.”

 

“You don’t have any plans?” Leckie asked in disbelief. “Figured you’d have guys lining up to ask you out.”

 

“Well a couple of guys asked me but I turned them down,” Vera answered slowly.

 

“Why did you do that?”

 

“Because I was sort of hoping that you would ask me out,” she answered, shocking Leckie.

 

“What?”

 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” Vera continued, voice steady but with a steadily reddening face, “but would you want to go out with me Friday? It know it’s a little short notice and-”

 

“Yes, of course,” Leckie chocked out as he got over his momentary shock. “I’d love to go out with you.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah, of course I would,” Leckie grinned while his heart hammered in his chest.

 

“Great. I need to meet Mary for lunch soon but I’ll text you later and we can figure out the details.”

 

“Yeah, sounds great.”

 

“I’ll see you later then, Bob,” Vera said as she opened her door and ducked into her room.

 

“See ya.”

 

With a smile so wide that he was sure his face might split into two, Leckie headed back to the fifth floor, still in disbelief over what had just happened but happier than he had been in months.

 

* * *

 

Tuesday afternoon found Hanks House in a state of unusual calm. The majority of the residents were still in classes and those who remained seemed to either be actually studying for once or, more likely, taking an afternoon nap. Lipton and Ron had decided to join in on the calm and were peacefully watching television while curled up on Ron’s bed. Carwood had been watching Ron’s eyes drop out of the corner of his eyes for the better part of an hour and knew that if his boyfriend wasn’t already asleep it would only be a matter of minutes. Carwood wished he could join him, knew he could use the nap, but didn’t think it was possible, not with a particular thought pressing him in the back of his head.

 

“Carwood,” Ron murmured, voice a little rough with sleep. “How am I supposed to sleep when you’re thinking so loudly?”

 

“Sorry, Ron,” Lipton apologized.

 

“It’s okay,” he said as he cracked open his eyes and stared down at Lipton. “What’s on your mind?”

 

“…nothing,” Carwood decided to brush off after a quick moment of decision. “It’s not important.”

 

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re a terrible liar?” Ron asked as he adjusted their position so that they were both lying on their sides, facing each other. “Never play poker, Car, you’ll lose every last penny.”

 

Carwood couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that statement; his mother had said similar things to him on a number of occasions.

 

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Ron continued as he slowly ran a hand up and down Lip’s side. “You can tell me it’s none of my business. I just don’t want you to feel like you have to lie.”

 

“It’s kind of your business,” Lipton admitted as he stared at Ron’s green bedding.

 

“Oh really?” Ron asked, sounding mildly surprised.

 

“Yeah,” Lipton nodded before he looked up at Ron’s bright green eyes. “I was wondering if we had any plans for Friday.”

 

“You were?”

 

“Yeah,” Lipton shrugged. “Just curious. Some of the guys were talking about plans and I realized I didn’t know if we had any.”

 

“Nothing set it stone yet but yeah, I’ve got some ideas,” Ron smirked as he pulled Lipton closer to him so that they were almost nose to nose. “Do you want to have plans?”

 

“I think it’d be nice,” Carwood decided shyly, which earned a wider grin from Ron. “What have you got in mind?”

 

“Depends on what you’d be up for,” Ron answered. “If you want to go fancy, I found this really nice restaurant a little bit out of the way we could go to. There are a couple decent places to eat in town or we could go to a movie. Or we could just stay here and watch shitty television in our pajamas all night because half the building is going to be out and we could actually get some peace and quiet for once.”

 

“You’ve got _some_ ideas?” Carwood smirked.

 

“I didn’t know what you would be up for,” Ron shrugged as he dipped his head slightly, looking almost nervous.

 

“Do you have any preference for what we do?” Lip asked.

 

“Not really,” Ron said. “Whatever you want to do. Anything you want to do. It’ll be great no matter what.”

 

“Well I don’t want to go too fancy,” Carwood said with a smile. “I don’t even have a suit here with me.”

 

“That’s probably for the best. I don’t know if I could handle you in a suit.”

 

“Ron,” Lipton mumbled, ducking his head in an attempt to hide the head that spread across his face like wildfire.

 

“I don’t know if I could handle other people seeing you in a suit either,” Ron continued. “I don’t like it, but I do get jealous and if you went out in a suit, no one would be able to keep their eyes off of you.”

 

“Yeah, sure they would,” Lipton said skeptically. “If both of us went out wearing suits, everyone would be staring at me and not you?”

 

“Of course they would,” Ron said seriously as he looked straight into Carwood’s eyes. “Nobody would ever compare to you.”

 

* * *

 

Wednesday afternoon found Hanks House Common Room host to a meeting of sorts. Several members of the fifth floor along with various members from the third and fourth floors had crowded together in the back corner and were in the middle of what appeared to be a serious conversation.

 

“This fucking sucks,” Ray declared as he lounged in one of the old arm chairs that sat scattered around the Common Room. “We need to do something while we have the chance!”

 

“No, Person, we’re still working off punishment from last semester,” George said seriously. “I’ve got one more week of community service and I’m not about to tack on more shit when I’m almost free; we’re gonna play it safe.”

 

“Luz, we are literally _never_ going to get this opportunity ever again,” Ray said slowly. “We need to take advantage of this cosmic occurrence.”

 

“Last time you said that I ended up picking garbage off of the Quad for fifty hours,” Luz said in a flat tone.

 

“You wanna bake a cake, you gotta break a couple eggs, Luzzy,” Ray persisted. “Necessary causalities for the greater good.”

 

“No, man, we’re keeping it simple,” he said firmly.

 

“All the R.A.’s are gonna be fucking gone! Along with all the backup moms this dorm seems to be fucking full of! It’s foolproof.”

 

“‘Backup moms’?” Skip asked.

 

“The guys who are like the unofficial R.A.’s? The guys who may or may not cut a party short because they’ve got a conscience or follow the rules or some shit,” Ray explained. “Ya know, like Lip or Eddie or even Burgin.”

 

“Those guys wouldn’t rat us out to the R.A.’s,” Luz said defensively. “Ninety-nine percent of the time Lip will turn a blind eye to what’s going on as long as no one seems in danger of dying or nothing is being destroyed.”

 

“Yeah but they will all give you that disappointed mom look that will make you feel like shit and end a party and in the end you just wish that they had reported you,” Ray said. “But back to my original point: we have to throw a party.”

 

“I don’t know about you but I’m for throwing a ragger,” Walt said. “Seems like a good idea to me, Luz.”

 

“Thank you, Walt,” Ray said as he leaned over Malarkey to high five the blond haired man. “I knew I kept you around for a reason, besides the fact that you’re eye candy.”

 

“Yeah I don’t see the problem here, George,” Penkala said. “I mean, Dick and Nix are gone. Speirs and Lip are gonna be gone. Skinny said that he heard Andy was gonna be gone and apparently Lena’s gonna be out too. We’re golden.”

 

“We would be golden if there wasn’t one huge, Nordic God shaped problem in our way,” George said flatly. “Are you guys seriously completely blind when it comes to Brad Colbert?”

 

“Bradly’s harmless,” Ray said dismissively. “We can work around him. We have before.”

 

“ _Bradly_ has written me up for upwards of one hundred hours of community service and has threatened me at least three times with reporting me directly to the dean of students. So I gotta say Brad Colbert may be many things but _harmless_ is probably the last thing I’d call him.”

 

“Luz has got a point, Ray,” Buck said. “I’d bet twenty dollars that if we tried the party plan Colbert would shut it down before we could even set up a round of beer pong.”

 

“Damn where is you guys sense of adventure?”

 

“I lost it somewhere around my twentieth hour of scraping gum off of the bottom of desks,” Luz answered. “Let’s just go with the simple set up. It’ll still be fun and we probably won’t get caught.”

 

“Fine,” Ray sighed. “You win.”

 

“I promise, Ray, if there is ever a time Colbert’s out for the night, we’ll throw a party so massive that none of us remember.”

 

“That’s what I needed to hear, Luz.”

 

“Besides, is it right to throw an awesome party when half of the house is out?” Luz asked.

 

“Hell yeah it is,” Ray exclaimed. “This bitch is a singles only party.”

 

“Uh, singles plus people who are in long-distance relationships,” Skip clarified.

 

“Yeah, okay, whatever,” Ray said with a roll of his eyes. “Single guys only with the token married guy.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Alright so, booze,” Luz said. “Do you think it’d be easier to move it up into the room Thursday night when everyone’s asleep?”

 

“Why would we do that?” Skinny asked.

 

“So we don’t risk getting caught Friday moving it when there are going to be people running around.”

 

“I don’t know, George,” Perco said uneasily. “What if we get caught with it before Friday night? I don’t want to get written up for having an entire liquor store in our room.”

 

“Besides, everything will get warm overnight,” Buck reasoned. “There’s not gonna be enough room in your mini fridge for what we’ve got.”

 

“You’ve got a point there,” George sighed.

 

“It’s not that big of an issue,” Malarkey said. “It’s not like we’re trying to move a keg.”

 

“Alright,” George nodded. “Well, on that note, gentlemen, I’m gonna call this meeting adjourned.”

 

“I’m about to grab some lunch, who wants to come with their dearest pal Ray-Ray?” ray asked as he sprung up from his seat.

 

“I’ll go,” Skinny said.

 

“Me too,” Walt said.

 

“Any other takers?”

 

“I’m gonna have to pass,” Luz said. “Still working off that meat lover’s pizza I ate an hour ago.”

 

“Your loss.”

 

George watched his friends disperse with a smile on his face; he couldn’t wait for Friday. None of them had a chance to throw a real party since they’ve gotten back for the new semester; most of them were still in a bit of a funk after Julian and it didn’t seem keen on passing anytime soon.

 

“Hey, Web,” Luz said as he passed by the curly haired boy who was currently hunched over a table, scribbling away at some homework assignment; he couldn’t help but noticed that Webster looked upset over something and he had a feeling it had nothing to do with the math equations on the page. “Why the long face?”

 

“It’s nothing, George,” Webster answered quietly as he rubbed an eraser furiously against the paper.

 

“Uh-huh, sure,” Luz nodded before he motioned towards Webster’s furious erasing. “You’re gonna a burn a hole through the table if you keep that up.”

 

“Luz, is there a specific reason you’re here bothering me?” Webster snapped as he glared up at the shorter man.

 

“Sorry,” Luz apologized as he raised a quick hand in surrender. “Just thought that I’d extend an invitation to you. Me and the guys are gonna have a little get together Friday night and I thought maybe if you didn’t have anything to do, you could join us. It’s supposed to be for single guys but I figure no one’s gonna be mad if we extend the invitation to guys who are in a relationship but desperately need to get away from their significant other for a night. No offense.”

 

“... Thanks, George,” David said calmly as he turned back to his work. “But I think I’m just gonna stay in and do some homework. Got a big paper coming up that I need to finish, got an exam next week…”

 

“I hear ya, man,” George nodded before he reached out and gave David a friendly clap on the back. “Just figured I’d ask.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“And if you change your mind or need a break, feel free to come next door. We’ll even save you one of those weird craft beers you and Buck like.”

 

* * *

 

Friday arrived quickly for the residents of Hanks House and the excitement felt was palpable, everyone it seemed, in a relationship or not, had something interesting planned for tonight. By the time classes ended in the afternoon Hank House was thrown into a chaotic state that had only been see before during exam week; people ran about in various states of dress, some yelled for help with their hair or a tie or if anyone knew how to iron. Those who were not trying to get ready stayed in their rooms and out of the way, usually out of fear of being trampled.

 

“Skip, cut it out,” Penkala said from where he sat in front of his desk.

 

“I’m not even doing anything,” Skip said; he hadn’t really moved since he collapsed on top of his bed an hour ago.

 

“You’re mopping and it’s bumming me the fuck out,” Penk said bluntly as he turned in his chair to stare at his best friend. “I know you miss Faye and I know Valentine’s Day is kind of a big deal for you guys but you need to try to cheer up.”

 

“Penk, I’ll be better when we’re with the guys later, I promise, but right now I gotta mope a little bit. It’s unavoidable.”

 

“Why don’t you just call her?” he asked as he returned to his computer screen. “Weren’t you guys supposed to do some Skype date tonight anyhow?”

 

“We were but she called yesterday and told me her and some girlfriends were having a girls night or something so she couldn’t,” Skip answered; he was a little disappoint that he wouldn’t be able to Skype Faye tonight but he was happy that she was going out to have fun with friends. He didn’t like the idea of her spending her Friday nights in front of a laptop when she could be out having a good time; she deserved more. “We’re gonna Skype tomorrow night instead.”

 

“Well then tomorrow night I am going to be anywhere except for here,” Alex said dryly before Skip’s cell phone began vibrating with the arrival of a new call. “Whose that?”

 

“Faye,” Skip answered as he stared at his phone. “Surprising.”

 

“ _Hey, sweetie,”_ Faye said as he answered the call.

 

“Thought you’d be out with your friends,” Skip responded. “What’s up?”

_“There was a change of plans. I’m not going out with them tonight.”_

 

“Really? Why? What happened?”

_“Nothing. I just decided I’d rather go out with you tonight.”_

 

“Faye, do you really want to spend your Friday night staring at my old mug through a computer screen when you could be out having fun?” Skip asked.

 

 _“Oh I have no intention of looking at your through a computer screen tonight,_ ” Faye said firmly.

 

“Uh, so what are we gonna get up to?” Skip asked slowly with cheeky grin.

 

_“Thought we might try something different.”_

 

“Okay,” Skip nodded before he moved the phone away from his mouth and glanced at his friend, “Hey, Penk, you might want to clear out now.”

 

 _“Skip, you pervert I can hear you,”_ Faye admonished. _“I’m not talking about that_.”

 

“Well then I have no idea what you’re talking about, Faye,” Skip admitted. “You’re gonna have to explain.”

 

 _“Go to your window_ ,” Faye ordered.

 

“What?” he asked as he sat up, feeling very confused.

 

 _“Go stand by your window,_ ” she persisted.

 

Skip turned to look at Penkala. He expected to find his friend in a similar state of confusion as he but instead he found Alex leaning back in his desk chair, grinning victoriously.

 

“What is going on?” Skip asked the both of the slowly.

 

 _“Just do as I say, Skip,_ ” Faye demanded in a giddy tone. _“Go to the window.”_

 

“You wanna fill me in on what’s going on right now?” Skip asked Penk as he got off of his bed and began walking towards the window.

 

“I’m just gonna go ahead and plead the fifth,” Penkala shrugged as he watched his friend.

 

Skip stopped in front of his window and was about to ask what exactly it was that he was supposed to be doing but before he could he saw something that made him freeze.

 

It was Faye.

 

“Holy shit,” Skip whispered while Penkala laughed in one ear and Faye laughed in another.

 

 _“Are you gonna make me stand out here all night or are you gonna let me in_?” Faye asked as she waved up to him from outside.

 

Skip turned to look at his best friend. Penkala was grinning so widely Skip was sure that his face was close to splitting into two.

 

“Did you…? Did you have something to do with this?” Skip stuttered.

 

“Of course I did, idiot,” Penkala answered. “Me and Faye had this planned for a while. And I gotta say, it was worth it just for this moment right here.”

 

“You jerk,” Skip said slowly but the grin on his face left the insult somewhat lacking. “You jerk! You knew and you didn’t tell me?”

 

“That’s kind of the point of a surprise, Skip,” he said slowly. “Now how about you go out and let your girlfriend in before she starts getting pissed. I’ve seen her pissed before and I do not want to see it again.”

 

Skip glanced outside the window one more time before he nodded and ran out of the room as fast as he could. Some people called after him but he ignored them. He all but threw himself down the stairs and before he knew it Skip was bursting out of the building. Skip paused for a second to orient himself before he turned to his right and saw Faye standing twenty feet away from him, grinning from ear to ear with an overnight bag at her feet. Feeling as if his heart was about to explode, Skip ran towards her and almost knocked her over with the force of the hug. Skip wrapped his arms tightly around the petite young women before he lifted her into the air with ease; Faye’s ecstatic screams echoed across the quiet college campus.

_“What are you doing here?”_ Skip exclaimed as he spun her around in the air.

 

 _“_ Surprise!” Faye laughed.

 

“ _Surprise?_ That’s all you have to say?” Skip asked as he set her back on the ground. “How long have you two been planning this?”

 

“A while,” Faye grinned up at him.

 

“You two are so, so evil,” Skip sighed.

 

“But you love us.”

 

“You’re both bad for my health but I guess I’m a glutton for punishment,” Skip shrugged before he bent down to his forehead rested against Faye’s. “Hi.”

 

“Hi,” Faye grinned before she gripped Skip’s face in her small, warm hands and kissed him.

 

* * *

 

“So what has Harry have planned for you two tonight?” Lena asked as she watched Kitty adjust her makeup on the mirror that hung from the door.

 

“I have no idea, he wouldn’t tell me a thing,” Kitty answered as she turned around and smiled nervously at her roommate.

 

“You didn’t manage to work anything out of him?” Lena asked with a smirk. “I’m surprised. Usually Harry crumbles under pressure.”

 

“I know. I tried to figure out something but the only thing he said was to dress up,” Kitty said sighed. “I guess I’ll figure out what he’s up to soon enough.”

 

“I’m sure it’ll be something interesting,” Lena said before she smirked at her. “I can clear out of the room tonight if you need it.”

 

“Lena you don’t have to do that.”

 

“It’s not a problem. I can stay with Lucy. Just let me know if you need it.”

 

“Well, thanks, Lena,” Kitty said graciously as she walked over to the closet and dug out a pair of high heels. “So where are _you_ going?”

 

“What?”

 

“You’re going somewhere tonight,” Kitty insisted as she straightened up and pointed at Lena with her pair of shoes. “You’re wearing a skirt.”

 

“Is it a crime to wear a skirt?” Lena asked.

 

“You _never_ wear a skirt,” Kitty continued. “Frankly I wasn’t aware that you owned a skirt.”

 

“Well I do and I’m wearing it because I felt like it. Is that a crime?”

 

“No,” Kitty agreed. “But you’re also wearing make-up and I saw you fixing your hair earlier. One of these actions alone wouldn’t have been that alarming but all three? I smell a date.”

 

“…I’m going out with friends,” Lena relented after a moment.

 

“Friends or _friend_? And is such friend of the male persuasion?” Kitty persisted.

 

“If you don’t hurry up you’re going to be late for your date.”

 

“That is not going to work on me. Harry will leave when I’m good and ready,” Kitty declared as she sat on the edge of her bed and put on her shoes. “And I am not ready until I know who you’re going out with.”

 

_Knock, knock, knock!_

 

“That must be Harry,” Lena said brightly as she stood up and went to open the door.

 

“You are not getting out of this that easily,” Kitty declared as she put her hands on her hips.

 

“You keep telling yourself that. But you should know by now that I’m tighter lipped than Harry ever could be,” she warned before she opened the door to reveal Harry, dressed in a pressed suit, his curly hair wild as ever. “Hello, Harry.”

 

“Hello, Lena,” Harry greeted with a wide grin, gap between his teeth as blatant as ever. “Kitty ready?”

 

“I believe so,” Lena said as she backed away from the doorway and revealed her roommate to Harry.

 

“Look at you. You’re gorgeous,” Harry said breathlessly.

 

“You don’t look half bad yourself,” Kitty teased before she greeted him with a quick kiss.

 

“Ready to go?” Harry smiled.

 

“Just about. Let me just grab my coat,” Kitty said before grabbed her coat off of the back of her chair. As she tugged it on she turned to look at Lena. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about this. We are going to talk about this later.”

 

“Go ahead and try but remember what I said,” Lena said calmly.

 

“What are you two talking about?” Harry asked.

 

“Nothing, sweetie,” Kitty smiled. “Let’s get going.”

 

Kitty let Harry lead her out of the room but as she turned to close the door, Kitty stared at her with wide eyes as she let out a tiny gasp.

 

“ _Oh my god, wait, is it John_?” Kitty hissed.

 

“ _Goodbye_ , Kitty,” Lena said firmly.

 

“Oh my god, _it is!”_

 

“What is going on?” Harry asked in confusion.

 

“Harry, get your girlfriend out of here before it’s too late,” Lena sighed.

 

“Lena Riggi you will tell me everything about tonight, tomorrow morning,” Kitty demanded.

 

“I’ll meet you for breakfast then,” Lena agreed exasperatedly with a shake of her head. “Have a good night, guys.”

 

“You too, Lena,” Harry grinned as he pulled Kitty away from the door and closed the door behind him.

 

* * *

 

David tried his best to ignore Leckie as he got ready for his date. He tried to focus on his homework, turned up his music louder in an attempt to drown out the noises Leckie was making, but it didn’t work. No matter what he did he couldn’t help but watch Leckie out of the corner of his eye, couldn’t help but have his mind wander and picture himself getting ready for a night out with Joe. A few days ago when he thought about his lack of Valentine’s Day plans he felt angry but now, after hearing everyone’s plans for tonight, watching half of the dorm getting ready, seeing everyone’s visible excitement, it just left him depressed.

 

He was grateful when Leckie finally left; it meant that he could stop trying to seem fine, end his forced aloof attitude, and was allowed to properly mope around his room. David tried to keep busy, tried to focus on his rather sizable amount of homework that needed to be done, but nothing worked. After almost an hour spent staring at the pages of one of the books he needed to read for class he gave up and decided to call it a night; it didn’t matter that it was only eight o’clock, he just wanted this stupid day to be over with already.

 

David had just tugged on a worn pair of pajama pants when someone knocked loudly on his door. Figuring it was Luz or one of the other guys trying to drag him to their party, he answered the door. When David saw what was waiting for him on the other side of the door he felt his jaw drop.

 

Instead of Luz or Ray or one of the other guys, it was Joe. It wasn’t the fact that it was Joe standing before him that surprised him so much, although Joe showing up to talk did surprise him a little since David had been giving the silent treatment all week, but what Joe was wearing. Instead of his usual t-shirt and torn jeans Joe was dressed in a clean, pressed suit and dress shoes, hair combed and perfectly styled.

 

David almost hated to admit it but damn did Joe look handsome.

 

“That what you’re wearing then?” Joe asked as he gestured to David’s sweatshirt and pajama pants. “I don’t think that’s gonna work, Web.”

 

“Joe,” David said slowly. “What’s going on?”

 

“You better hurry up and get ready,” Joe said as he breezed past David and entered the room. “I called a taxi and it’s gonna be here in half an hour. I assume you have at least a dress shirt. I mean, I know your parents kicked you out but I have to figure a guy like you, you probably owned five suits and you had to have brought one of them here, right?”

 

“Yeah, Joe, I have a suit-”

 

“Good,” Joe grinned.

 

“But that doesn’t answer my question,” David said while he felt his shock dissolve and get replaced by annoyance.

 

“Jeez, Web,” Joe said quietly. “What do you thinks going on? I’m taking you out.”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m taking you on a date,” Joe snapped. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

 

“Well yeah-”

 

“Good because I’m not wasting this. Do you know how much of a bitch it was to get a reservation at this restaurant two days before Valentine’s Day? Pretty much had to suck the maître d's dick.”

 

“Joe please tell me you did not actually suck-”

 

“Fuck no, of course not, Web,” Joe rolled his eyes. “I said ‘pretty much’ not actually. But the guy is buddies with my uncle and the whole ordeal was way too much ass-kissing for my tastes so why don’t you suit up and let’s get going.”

 

“… Why are you doing all this?” David asked after a long moment.

 

“Why am I doing this? Have we not been fucking fight all fucking week because you said you wanted to go out tonight or have I been hallucinating?” Joe asked.

 

“Uh yeah, we’ve been fighting because you made such a big deal about us not going out tonight,” Web reminded him. “And now all of a sudden you’re springing these plans on me, telling me all these favors you had to call in to get reservations? What gives?”

 

“I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again, you must have gotten into Harvard with your looks,” Joe sighed, earning a flat look from Webster. “Okay, sorry, Web, but do I really have to explain this? Can’t we just go?”

 

“Explain or I’m not going,” David said firmly as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

 

He expected a fight, for Joe to start yelling or for him to maybe leave. Joe, however, seemed determined to keep David on his toes tonight because instead of puffing up and yelling as he usually did, Joe seemed to deflate and his voice got softer.

 

“I’m just trying to do whatever it will take to make you stop hating me,” Joe admitted. “Listen, I know I was an asshole, more of an asshole than usual, and I get that a big part of why we’ve been fighting has actually been my fault. My bad.”

 

“Joe…”

 

“When you asked about plans for today, I should have realized how much it meant to you and I shouldn’t have done what I did,” Joe continued. “So I’m sorry, Dave, okay? I’m sorry and it’d be really great if you came to this stupid restaurant with me tonight because I don’t want to snub this guy after all I did to get us a table.”

 

“I should say no, just so you can deal with the wrath of the maître d',” Webster smirked.

 

“Please don’t,” Joe frowned. “If you care about me like, even the slightest you would not throw that hell on me.”

 

“Well,” David said slowly as he pushed off of the wall and stepped toward Joe, “since you sound so desperate, I guess maybe I’ll go with you.”

 

“Good,” Joe smirked. “Now get dressed. Taxi’s gonna be here in twenty and I don’t want the driver to ditch us because you were taking so long with your hair.”

 

“Maybe if someone told me we were going out more than twenty minutes before I had to leave, we wouldn’t have been late.”

 

“Maybe if you were answering your phone-”

 

“Joe,” David said firmly as he reached out and grabbed his boyfriend’s hand. “I’m just teasing you.” David then leaned forward and kissed Joe, feeling as if he heart was exploding as he did it. “I’ll meet you at your room in fifteen minutes, okay?”

 

“Fine,” Joe nodded. “But if you’re late, you gotta tip the cabbie.”

 

“Whatever you say, Joe.”

 

* * *

 

The car ride to the restaurant was quiet but peaceful. The radio played softly while Lewis drove and Dick hummed along pleasantly next to him.

 

“Lew,” Dick said as they stopped in front of a red light. Dick reached across the middle of the front seat and gripped Nixon’s right hand. “Keep your eyes on the road. I’d prefer if we made it to the restaurant without incident.”

 

“Sorry,” Nixon apologized as the light turned from red to green.

 

Nixon refocused his eyes on the road but knew it would only be a matter of time before his eyes drifted back towards Dick. He couldn’t help it, Dick looked amazing. He was dressed in a suit, the same he had worn when they went to church on Christmas. He looked just as sinful as he did then but this time Lewis didn’t have a holy destination to cool his libido.

 

Ten minutes later Lewis pulled into the half full restaurant parking lot. Nixon cut the engine but didn’t turn the car off, which earned him a look from Dick.

 

“What is it?”

 

“I’m so happy that I met you,” Lewis said boldly as he stared at Dick intensely. “I’m so glad that I decided to drop out of Yale and come out here. I’m so glad my car broke down in the middle of nowhere on my way here. Who knows where we’d be if I didn’t.”

 

“We would still be together if your car hadn’t broken down,” Dick smiled. “You would have still have been assigned to the dorm across from me. We would have met just a little later and we’d still be sitting right here together. I’m sure of it.”

 

“But I’m glad it happened,” Nixon continued. “Because meeting you just a couple days sooner? Every extra day I get to spend with you makes everything better. Hell, I wish I could have met you nineteen years sooner.”

 

“Lew,” Dick mumbled as he ducked his head, face red.

 

“I mean it,” Nixon continued as he smiled as his blushing boyfriend. “I’ve never known someone who I wanted to spend every day with before you, Dick.”

 

 _I want to spend the rest of my life with you,_ Nixon thought quietly while he felt a lump form in his throat. Feeling suddenly shaky, Nixon leaned against the steering wheel and ducked his head while he felt all of his sudden bravado leave him.

 

“Lew, if we don’t get moving we’re going to lose our reservation,” Dick reminded him as he reached across the front seat and squeezed Nixon’s hand.

 

“Ehh, let’s just forget about the reservations,” Nixon suggested as he sat back in his seat and smiled at Dick. “Let’s go for a drive. Maybe go to wine country? Stay at some overpriced bed and breakfast and get waited on hand and foot? How does that sound?”

 

“Great idea, Lew, but I’m pretty sure they don’t feel too fondly of underage drinking in wine country,” Dick smiled. “Maybe next year when you’re legal.”

 

“Ah but where’s the fun in that?” Nix smiled.

 

“Come on,” Dick said as he unbuckled himself and opened the car door. “We’re gonna be late.”

 

Following Dick’s lead, Nixon turned the car off, got out, and began walking towards the restaurant with Dick at his side. Dick reached out and laced his fingers with Nix’s and together, hand in hand, they entered the restaurant.

 

* * *

 

Ron, as promised, did not go the overly lavish route and instead took Lipton to a small restaurant on the other side of town. The place had a casual air to it but was a step above the dinner near campus that many of the guys frequented. When they arrived they found the restaurant half filled with other couples looking for a relaxed night out. After dinner when the check came, Ron grabbed it and had his wallet out and open before Lipton could even react.

 

“I insist,” Ron said as he pulled out several bills from his wallet and placed them on the table.

 

“Well then how about I pay for dessert?” Lipton offered. “I know of a good Ice Cream place near campus.”

 

“Sounds good to me,” Ron smiled as they pulled their jackets on. “Lead the way.”

 

Fifteen minutes later Ron and Carwood found themselves in a packed ice cream parlor; it seemed as if Lipton wasn’t the only one who had the idea to get ice cream that night because what seemed liked half of the student body of Pacific Coast appeared to be crammed into the shop.

 

Once they finally got their ice cream, instead of trying to fight a couple for a table, the two went outside to sit on one of the available benches. As they settled down on the beach, Carwood looked up and noticed another couple sitting on the two of benches on the other side of the sidewalk. Carwood was about to turn away, give them their privacy, when he heard an extremely familiar voice.

 

“You’re making a mess.”

 

“Am not,” replied another painfully familiar voice.

 

“Then explain the ice cream all over my hands,” countered the first voice dryly.

 

“You’re the one who insisted on holding the bowl.”

 

“Because I didn’t know that only half of what was on the spoon would reach your mouth.”

 

“I’m sorry, Andy-”

 

It was then that Carwood realized exactly who it was: Andy and Eddie. Once he realized who it was sitting across from them he couldn’t help but notice how the two were sitting, how one of Eddie’s arms was wrapped around Andy’s shoulders, how Andy was curled into his side with his head resting on Eddie’s shoulder. Lipton knew that the two were close, everyone knew that Eddie and Andy were best friends, but the scene in front of them, curled around each other and a shared bowl of ice cream, seemed too intimate to be just two friends enjoying a night out.

 

Not wanting to be rude, Carwood quickly turned away and looked to Ron, who appeared as if he too had just realized who it was sitting across from them.

 

“Seems like we weren’t the only ones to think of coming here,” Lipton said quietly and calmly.

 

“Great minds think alike,” Speirs smiled before he copied Eddie’s form and wrapped an arm around Lipton’s shoulders.

 

“…did you know about them?” Lipton couldn’t help but ask; Ron had gone to PCU with them the year before so there was the chance that he knew something Lipton didn’t.

 

“There were rumors, bets were probably made,” Ron answered with a shrug. “I had the feeling but it wasn’t my place to ask.”

 

“Guess they didn’t need that extra air mattress when they visited over break,” Carwood realized with a smile.

 

For the rest of their time on the bench, Carwood and Ron did their best to ignore Eddie and Andy. They talked quietly while they ate their ice cream and enjoyed the brisk night air, sitting out under the bright, twinkling stars. By the time the finished their ice cream, Lipton almost forgot about the couple sitting across from them. However, Lipton was forced to remember that they were there when both couples headed towards the same trash can at the same time to dispose of their trash. For a fraction of a second, Lipton felt a wave of anxiety rise up inside of him; should he or shouldn’t he acknowledge them? Were they out or were they trying to keep this a secret? Lipton was saved from having to choose how to react when Andy smiled and waved at them.

 

“Hey, Lip, Ron,” Andy greeted them before he turned and smiled at Eddie. “Looks like we weren’t the only ones who thought ice cream sounded nice.”

 

“Half of PCU’s crammed in there,” Eddie reasoned as he motioned to the still packed ice cream shop. “Clearly we aren’t the only ones who thought so.”

 

“So how has your night been?” Andy asked pleasantly.

 

“Great,” Lipton answered. “Went out to dinner and then we decided to grab some dessert.”

 

“We were just about to head back,” Ron said.

 

“I think we’re gonna stay out a little bit longer,” Eddie said. “It’s a beautiful night tonight. Don’t want to waste it inside.”

 

“Well, we’ll see you two later,” Andy said with a smile before he turned and walked away from them with Eddie at his side.

 

Hand in hand, Ron and Carwood walked back to campus. Once inside Hanks House, it became impossible to ignore the muffled noises coming from the end of the fifth floor hallway. Clearly something was going on but neither man was in the mood to see what the fuss was all about. Carwood figured if Brad hadn’t broken it up yet it probably wasn’t too bad.

 

“Are you going to stay with me?” Ron asked as they paused outside of Ron’s empty dorm room.

 

“Of course,” Lipton answered before he leaned upwards and pressed a quick kiss to Ron’s cheek. “Just give me a couple minutes.”

 

Lipton turned and walked down the hallway to his dorm room and found it dark and empty; he figured Jay was down the hall with the rest of the guys. Carwood quickly changed into a pair of pajama pants and a worn t-shirt. The shirt was a little tight across his chest but the worn fabric made him smile; the shirt previously belonged to Ron. Smiling fondly, Lipton grabbed his toiletry bag and headed for the bathroom.

 

Carwood stepped into the fifth floor bathroom and almost immediately exited when he found a number of familiar faces standing about while they attempted to shotgun beers. Before he could get hit with any foamy spray, he stepped out and headed for the stairs.

 

The fourth floor bathroom was infinitely less crowded or hectic; in fact there was only one other person in the entire bathroom: Andy.

 

“It seems as if I’m making it a habit of running into you, Lip,” Andy greeted him from where he stood in front of the sinks.

 

“The guys were doing… something in the bathroom upstairs,” Lipton explained as he set his bag on top of the counter.

 

“Sometimes it’s better to just not ask questions,” Andy said with a shake of his head.

 

For a long moment there was silence between them with the only noise coming from the floor above. As Andy was drying his hands, he spoke.

 

“You can talk about it, you know.”

 

“We don’t have to,” Lipton said; he figured it was better to skip playing dumb and just get to the point.

 

“But you want to,” Andy persisted in a light tone. “It’s not like it’s some huge secret.”

 

“It’s not?” Lip asked, tone mildly surprise.

 

“Hell no,” Andy grinned as he leaned against the sinks.

 

“Well to be honest I was under the impression that you and Eddie were friends.”

 

“We are friends. Best friends,” Andy nodded, smiling widely still. “But we’re also dating, have been for over a year.”

 

“Really?”

 

“I guess you could say that we’re a little less public with our affections than some other people,” Andy shrugged. “But we’re in no way trying to hide anything.”

 

“Do any of the others know?”

 

“A handful. Some get curious and ask and others find out by chance,” he answered before he pushed off of the sink. “Now if you will excuse me, I have a Valentine’s Day to continue and I’m sure you do too.”

 

* * *

 

Eugene knew that some people might feel a little depressed about spending Valentine’s Day alone while watching movies and eating too much Valentine’s Day candy but he didn’t; he was perfectly fine with it. Being single had never been a problem for him and frankly he didn’t see what was so upsetting about being alone. As long as he was happy with himself what did it matter if he was a part of a couple or not?

 

Sidney had tried many times during high school to set him up on dates and Eugene rarely ever took him up on the offer; the only time he agreed was when it was a double date and Sidney needed to entertain a friend of the girl he had eyes for. Again this year Sidney had offered his services in “wrangling a partner” for him but Eugene had politely declined. He already had plans with a trilogy of Jurassic Park movies and a stock pile of junk food.

 

Eugene settled down with the first film just as a group of guys headed down to Luz and Perconte’s room with as much alcohol and junk food they could carry. Luz had knocked on his door and extended yet another invitation to joined them before he chased after Person, who appeared to be dressed in some homemade Cupid’s costume.

 

Halfway through the first film Eugene heard the slightly alarming sounds of shattering glass and a lot of yelling but he chose not to investigate when he head shouts of laughter; he would much rather just wait to hear the highlights of the night tomorrow whenever everyone managed to pull themselves from their respective hangover comas. By the time he finished the first film and was switching out the DVD’s he heard a few people returning to the fifth floor before quietly moving into their dorm rooms; Eugene couldn’t help but guess that most of the people weren’t alone in their rooms. Eugene got a text part way through the movie from Sidney that told him that Sidney would not be returning to their room tonight. Smirking, Eugene texted him and told Sidney to remember to be careful because God knows what would happen if he reproduced. Eugene laughed at his friend’s snarky response before he returned to his movie.

 

Near the end of the second film, just as the Tyrannosaurus Rex began tearing through downtown, Eugene saw someone cross by his open door; he thought he recognized the figure.

 

“Mer?” Eugene called out as he paused the movie. “That you?”

 

There was a pause and then Merriell appeared in his doorway.

 

“Hey,” Eugene smiled. “Where had you been? Haven’t seen you in a while.”

 

Truthfully, Eugene had hardly seen his friend at all over the past month, not since the hospital and their ‘date’. Eugene told himself that it was because they both were so busy with school work but he knew it was because of something else, something neither boy seemed to want to talk about.

 

“I’ve been out,” Merriell shrugged as he leaned against the doorframe; Eugene couldn’t help but notice his backpack slung over one of his shoulders.

 

“You been out all day?” Eugene asked as he gestured to his backpack.

 

“Had some stuff to do,” he answered cryptically. “What about you? What’re you up to?”

 

“Nothing much. Watching some movies, eating junk food,” Eugene shrugged.

 

“A single’s Valentine’s Day,” Merriell smirked.

 

“Hey I got no problem being single on Valentine’s Day. And I think relaxing and watching a movie is better than drinking my weight in alcohol just because society says I’m supposed to be upset that I’m single.”

 

“Guess you got a point there, Sledgehammer.”

 

“What are you up to now?” Eugene asked.

 

“I was gonna go try to catch a couple hours… but I don’t know how safe my room is right now,” Merriell said slowly as the realization hit him. “You wouldn’t happen to know the status on Web and Joe’s relationship? I usually wouldn’t give a flying fuck but if they’re still fighting my room could be a warzone.”

 

“Actually I think they’ve stopped fighting,” Eugene answered. “Think they made up and Joe took Web out or something like that.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah but if they made up, your room is probably still unsafe… for other reasons,” Eugene said slowly.

 

“Fuck,” Merriell groaned. “Think I may just crash on a couch down stairs.”

 

“Sorry,” Eugene apologized. “You know, if you wanna crash here, you can. Sid’s not coming back tonight.”

 

“Your boy that sure of himself?” Merriell asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

“He sent me a text saying not to expect him back so I’m just gonna use my imagination for this one,” he said. “So what do you say? You won’t even have to crash on the floor; you can use Sid’s bed.”

 

There was a pause and for a moment Eugene thought Merriell was going to step back into the hallway and decline his offer. Instead he tossed his book bag onto the floor and moved forward, closing the door behind him. Eugene moved a few things from the space next to him to allow Merriell room on the floor.

 

“What are we watching?”

 

“Jurassic Park,” Eugene answered. “The second one.”

 

“Second one sucks,” Merriell declared as he reached across Eugene to grab the half-eaten bag of chips.

 

“It’s almost over, Mer,” Eugene said with a roll of his eyes.

 

“Why are you watching these movies anyhow?” he asked through a mouth full of chips. “Think they’d learn not to fuck with dinosaurs after the first one. Fucking idiots.”

 

“We can watch something different after this, Mer,” Eugene said with a shake of his head.

 

“What movies ya got?”

 

“I’ve got a couple,” Eugene said as he gestured to the large pile of DVD’s stacked next to the television. “You can look at them later.”

 

“Whatever,” he mumbled before he pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes out of his coat pocket. “Mind if I smoke?”

 

“If we get caught it’s on you,” Eugene warned.

 

“All of the R.A.’s are either out or getting laid, no one’s gonna be doing rounds tonight, Sledgehammer,” Shelton said around the cigarette that hung out of the corner of his mouth.

 

Eugene watched as Merriell pulled out a scratched, metal lighter and lit the cigarette with a quick and practiced flick. The lighter, it was something Eugene had noticed a couple times before. Almost all of the guys in the dorm used the plastic lighters that could be bought ten for a dollar at the local gas station and a couple liked to fumble around with a matchbook because they claimed it made them look sophisticated or something. Not Merriell though. Merriell always used the same battered Zippo lighter; Eugene had never seen him light a cigarette without it.

 

“You wanna take a picture, Eugene?” Merriell asked through a cloud of cigarette smoke. “It’ll last longer.”

 

“Sorry,” Eugene apologized as he turned away; he hadn’t realized he had been staring.

 

Eugene returned his attention to the television but found he couldn’t focus. Not when Merriell sat so close to him that he could feel his friend’s body heat and could clearly watch the slightly distracting sight of Merriell smoking in his peripherals. Eugene really wished he had told him that he couldn’t smoke in his room or at least told him to move to the window.

 

Eugene was broken out of his thoughts when Merriell tapped shoulder. Eugene turned and found his face almost uncomfortably close to his own. He leaned back ever so slightly so that there would be more room in-between the two of them.

 

“What?” Eugene asked.

 

Merriell smirked before he held up the half-smoked cigarette and offered it to Eugene. Eugene remembered the first time the met, sitting outside of Hanks House on one of the first nights here. Eugene had offered his name and in response Merriell had offered a pack of cigarettes, which he declined without a second thought. Now, however, Eugene thought differently.

 

Ignoring everything his mother had ever taught him, he reached out, grabbed the cigarette, and inhaled a thick cloud of hot, heavy smoke.

 

He immediately felt as if someone put a vice on his lungs and he began to cough. He could hear Merriell laughing at him in-between coughs.

 

“There you go, Eugene,” Merriell said through his laughter. “Take it like a champ.”

 

“Fuck you, Shelton,” Eugene wheezed. “Jackass.”

 

“Ain’t my fault if you don’t know how to smoke,” he said before he reached out and gave Eugene’s back a slap. “Come on, Sledge. You know how to breathe. Mama Sledge is gonna have my head if I kill her baby boy.”

 

“She’s gonna have your head no matter what,” Eugene wheezed as he squinted through watering eyes at his friend. “For being a corrupting influence on me.”

 

“Guess I’ll never be able to step foot in Mobile,” Merriell sighed dramatically. “What a shame that is.”

 

Eugene gave Merriell a playful shove before he attempted a second go at the cigarette. When he managed to not cough from the second hit, he passed the cigarette back to Merriell and turned to watch the last few minutes of the movie. Merriell finished the cigarette just as the movie ended, at which time he got up, crushed the cigarette bud into the garbage pail, and turned to Eugene’s movie collection.

 

After some discussion they settled on one of Eugene’s few action movies and settled back down on the floor. Ten minutes into the movie Merriell pulled out his pack of cigarettes again and after he took a pull, Shelton passed it to Eugene, who accepted it without hesitation.

 

It was calm, peaceful, and relaxed, despite the heavy gunfire and screams that poured out of the television set. As the movie dragged on Eugene could feel himself slowly falling asleep. He felt warm and the burning in his lungs had long since subsided. He had stopped sharing cigarettes with Merriell after the third one and the buzz that kept him up had faded.

 

“You falling asleep on me, Sledgehammer?” Merriell’s warm, slow voice asked as Eugene felt himself begin to nod off.

 

“Nope,” Eugene said despite the contrary.

 

“Why don’t you just call it a night? It’s like watching a kid trying to stay up to watch the ball drop on New Year’s,” he murmured around a fresh cigarette.

 

“I’m fine,” Eugene insisted as he closed his eyes and felt his head dip onto Merriell’s shoulder. “I’m just resting my eyes.”

 

“What’ve you gotta tell yourself.”

 

Feeling warm and content with Merriell pressed against his side, Eugene fell into a deep, restful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i actually had to cut some things out because this chapter was getting way too long so i'm def going to write some side fics when i get the chance
> 
> also sorry but who knows when I'm going to update again because I have no clue what's going to go on in the next chapter. oh well. hope you enjoyed this semi-recent update


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midterms prt2 electric boogaloo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for my shitty updates but if you follow me on tumblr you probably know that this past semester of class has been hectic as fuck and I really haven't had any time to work on this since February. Hope it's worth the wait 
> 
> (also I took a lit class this past semester so this first scene was heavily influenced by it)

* * *

“How the fuck are you supposed to figure out what the fuck these Puritans were trying to say when they wrote these poems three hundred years ago?” Johnny Martin gripped as he glared at Webster from across the library table.

 

“You just gotta put a little thought into it is all,” Web responded.

 

“What do I look like a fucking idiot?” Johnny asked. “That’s what I’ve been doin’.”

 

“N-no, Johnny, that’s not what I-”

 

“Hey, relax, Johnny,” Leckie said calmly as he attempted to break up another fight before it had a chance to really start. It was midterm season again and everyone was on edge; Leckie had heard a couple of fights break out between study groups in the library over the past few days and he didn’t doubt that Johnny Martin wouldn’t be above starting another. “I know this can be difficult but you just gotta keep at it. How about we start looking at the list of possible exam questions?”

 

While everyone shuffled through their notes and folders to find the exam question sheet, Webster sent Leckie a silent thank you. Webster had been running a study group for the past few days for one of the literature classes in preparation for their upcoming midterm. After a few rough days that almost ended in blows between David and some of his more ornery study group members David had turned to Leckie for some needed assistance.

 

“So who has a question they want to go over?” Leckie asked as he pulled out his own copy of the question sheet.

 

“I got one,” Skip spoke up. “What was a seduction novel again? “

 

“They’re those paperbacks with super muscly shirtless dudes with long flowing hair on the cover,” Hoosier pipped up as he rocked back in his chair. “Seem to be a big hit with suburban housewives.”

 

“Suburban housewives and you, Hoosier,” Leckie countered with a grin. “I fucking saw you reading _Fifty Shades of Grey_.”

 

“It wasn’t that good. Writing was pretty shitty,” Hoosier shrugged. “I bet Webster’s fanfiction has better writing.”

 

“ _Hey!”_ Webster exclaimed, face flushing.

 

“I’m just teasing, Davey, I’m sure you’re fanfiction is top notch,” Hoosier said seriously. “And I read those books because I’m prepping for my life as a housewife. Gonna find a rich husband who’ll take care of me. That’s why I’m in college; here for an MRS degree.”

 

“Well you lost your shot at Leckie, unless you’re willing to fight Vera for him,” Skip teased.

 

“Pff, I’m not here for an English major. I’m here to snag a doctor or an engineer. Someone who’ll _actually_ have a job after graduation.”

 

“Okay can we stop fucking talking about this shit and get back to studying?” Johnny asked in annoyance. “What the fuck is a seduction novel, Leckie?”

 

“Seduction novels aren’t just about sex, they also deal heavily with strong emotions and sentimentality. Some of the conventional tropes could be the love triangle or the idea of the innocent woman falling for the debauched man.”

 

“Seduction novels also often use epistolary format, which is telling the story through letters or journal entries,” Web added. “How about we open our copies of _the Coquette_ and look for examples of these.”

 

“Good idea, Web,” Leckie agreed as his cell phone chirped with a new text message.

 

While the rest of the group flipped through their books, Leckie pulled out his phone and found a new text message waiting for him; he couldn’t help but smile when he saw who it was from.

 

**Are you free for lunch?** Vera texted him.

 

**Of course.** Leckie responded.

 

**Meet me outside Puller Hall in 10 minutes?**

 

Leckie glanced up from his phone and looked at the group. Webster had begun listing off page numbers that had examples for them to look at but by the look of Johnny’s, Skip’s, and Hoosier’s faces he was working too fast for them to properly understand. A part of Leckie wanted to stay and help his friends study for their literature midterm but the idea of lunch with Vera was much more tempting. Besides, Leckie wasn’t even an official tutor, Web was; Leckie just agreed to help his roommate with the study session.

 

**See you there**

 

“Well, gentlemen, I am sorry but I gotta run,” Leckie said as he returned his cell phone to his pocket.

 

“What?” David asked, looking a little panicked.

 

“Where the fuck are you running off to?” Johnny asked with a frown.

 

“Sorry, something came up,” Leckie shrugged. “Matter’s really out of my hands.”

 

“But, Bob-”David began.

 

“I believe in you, cobber,” Leckie said as he gave Webster a firm slap on the back. “Next time you guys meet, let me know. I’ll help out.”

 

Before Leckie could properly take in the expression on his roommate’s face, one that looked like Webster was being thrown to the sharks, he grabbed his backpack and exited the library.

 

It was a gorgeous spring day filled with warm sunshine and pleasant, cool breezes. As Leckie walked across the campus he couldn’t help but notice the large numbers of students who had spread blankets out on the quad or had taken over the outdoor tables so that they could enjoy the weather while they crammed for their upcoming midterms.

 

“Hello, handsome,” Vera greeted Leckie as he approached her outside of Puller Hall, her smile brighter than the sky. “Did I pull you away from anything important?”

 

“No, I was just giving Web a hand with his study group,” Leckie answered as he took hold of Vera’s hand and laced their fingers together. “Web’s a big kid; he’ll be fine on his own. Now where should be go for lunch?”

 

After the two settled on grabbing something to go, they settled on an unoccupied picnic table near the quad and soaked in the warmth and fresh air. Vera began explaining some issues she was having with a lab partner while Leckie sat in the warm sun, listening intently to the beautiful young woman. He still couldn’t quite believe that someone like Vera not only went on a date with him but agreed to exclusively date him.

 

Valentine’s Day on paper hadn’t been anything spectacular. Since their date was a little last minute the few nicer restaurants around town didn’t have any open reservations so they settled on returning to the same diner they went to back in January. The food hadn’t been amazing and between the florescent lighting and the crappy music the place didn’t exactly scream romance but in the end none of it mattered.

 

This past month with Vera, Leckie didn’t know if he had ever been happier. Of course, anyone who had the privilege to spend so much time with Vera would be happy, she was smart, funny, beautiful, but there was something else. He wasn’t sure what it was exactly but he and Vera just clicked on a completely different level that he hadn’t experienced before. When he was with Stella it seemed every spare moment alone was spent in the throes of young love but with Vera it was different. Sure there was definitely passion and attraction in this relationship but it was much more than physical. There was mental and emotional stimulation that Leckie hadn’t had before. Leckie and Vera could spend hours just talking about numerous different topics or they could just sit in comfortable silence without ever having to feel like something needed to be said. It just worked.

 

“Bob,” Vera said gently, breaking Leckie out of his thoughts. “You’re staring again.”

 

“Sorry, I just can’t help myself,” Leckie apologized with a grin while Vera shook her head slightly.

 

“So, as I was saying,” Vera continued, “I just have my exam Friday morning and then I’m done so I’ll be leaving for the airport around noon.”

 

“Wish you were staying here for break,” Leckie said; spring break started next week once all of the midterms were finished and most of Hanks House appeared to be staying.

 

“I do too but my mom really misses me and I guess my grandma hasn’t been doing well so I need to visit her,” Vera sighed before she reached out and moved a stray curl away from Bob’s forehead. “Wish you were going back home too; then we could still see each other.”

 

Vera, as luck would have it, was also from New Jersey. She lived a couple towns over from Leckie but a thirty minute drive really wasn’t much of a distance.

 

“At least we’ll be able to see each other over the summer,” Leckie reminded her; he didn’t even pause to think if they would still be together over two months later.

 

“That’s true,” Vera nodded before Leckie’s cell phone began ringing with a new call.

 

Leckie couldn’t help but be surprised when he saw who was calling him; it was his mother. He honestly hadn’t talked to his mother in months.

 

“Hello?”

 

“ _Hello, Bob,”_ his mother greeted him pleasantly. “ _How have you been?”_

 

“I’ve been good, Mom, really good.”

 

_“You sound good,”_ his mother commented.

 

“Why do you sound surprised when you say that?” Leckie asked with a frown.

_“Well you always sound all doom and gloom; you sound happy for once.”_

 

“Well, I am happy,” Leckie said as he sent a smile to Vera. “So what’s up?”

 

Leckie’s mother never called out of the blue just to see how her youngest was; there had to be a reason for this call.

 

_“I don’t know if you’ve talked to your siblings lately or heard the news but your brother Andrew proposed to Hope and they’re getting married.”_

 

“Drew’s getting married?” Leckie responded as he looked at Vera in mild surprise. “That’s great news; Hopes a nice lady.”

 

_“Glad you approve,”_ his mother said. “ _Now, we’re having an engagement party next week and I know it’s your spring break so I was wondering if you would be interested in flying back home for it.”_

 

“An engagement party?” Leckie asked; it didn’t exactly sound like the most entertaining thing in the world to Bob.

 

_“A lot of the family is coming to town for it and people have been asking how you’ve been,”_ she continued. _“I know it’s not exactly your thing but it would be nice if you came and spent some time with your family while we’re all together. You wouldn’t have to stay for the whole party, Robert; I wouldn’t be offended if you left early… and I’d understand if you didn’t want to come at all. I just thought I’d send you the offer.”_

 

“Uh, hold on a second, Mom,” Leckie said before he moved his phone away from his mouth and looked to Vera.

 

“What’s up?”

 

“My older brother got engaged and there’s gonna be some big party for him and his fiancé next week. My mom wants to know if I would come home for it,” Leckie explained.

 

“Do you really want to?” Vera asked. “You and your family don’t exactly get along.”

 

“I don’t know. It doesn’t sound that bad,” Leckie admitted; he might have a lot of issues with his immediate family but he really liked a few of his uncles and he had always been pretty close to some of his cousins. Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. “If things got really bad I could always come back here early.”

 

“Or you could visit me,” Vera suggested as an afterthought. “You wouldn’t have to worry about getting a new plane ticket.”

 

“That is a rather convincing argument you have there,” Leckie said before he brought his phone back to his mouth. “Mom?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Uh.” Was he really gonna do this? Was he going to give up a spring break here for a week of being stuck at home with his family? “Yeah, order me plane ticket.” Fuck it. “I’ll be there.”

 

* * *

 

Eugene sat back in his desk chair and rubbed at his tired eyes with the heels of his hands; after three hours of staring at his biology notes his vision was beginning to blur.

 

“Had enough, Eugene?” Sidney asked from where he sat on top of his own bed with several of his notebooks, textbooks, and notecards splayed out in front of him.

 

“My eyeballs feel like they’re going to fall out of my head,” Eugene sighed as he gave his textbook a halfhearted shrug away from him. “I don’t think I can look at this shit anymore.”

 

“Well, couple of days and it’ll be spring break and then you can have a nice, week-long break away from all that,” Sidney reminded him.

 

“I guess.”

 

“Got any plans for spring break?”

 

“I don’t know,” Eugene sighed as he reached out, picked up his stack of flashcards, and began flipping through them. “My mom called and asked if I was gonna come home for break.”

 

“And what did you tell her?” Sidney asked as he looked up at his best friend.

 

“Nothing yet. She told me to give her an answer by Wednesday so that she could buy me a ticket but I haven’t decided yet.”

 

“You should stay,” Sid said firmly. “First off, if you go home and I don’t my mother is going to give me an earful asking why I didn’t come back with you.”

 

“That sounds like more reason for me to go back, Sid,” Eugene smirked. “I think you’re due for a good chewing out.”

 

“I can’t believe that there are people in this dorm who think you’re a nice person.”

 

“What’s your second reason?” he asked as he looked at Sidney from over his shoulder.

 

“Second reason why should stay: spring break here is gonna be a blast, Eugene. From what I’ve heard most of the guys are staying and it’s gonna be a week of partying, hanging out down at the beach, and relaxing with some of the best guys around.”

 

“Sounds like what most of the guys do already.”

 

“Yeah except now no one will have to deal with going to class hungover.”

 

“Guess I see your point.”

 

“Most importantly, Eugene, after spring break there is just over a month left of class and then we’re all out of here. Next year we’re all gonna go our separate ways and yeah, we’ll see each other around but it’s never gonna be the same, Eugene. Why would you trade a week of partying with some of the best guys in the world for a week of your mother smothering you back in Mobile?”

 

“I don’t know,” Eugene lied as he returned to his notes. “Just tired of all the commotion, I guess. Thought that maybe I could use a break.”

 

“You’ll get a break soon enough; a _three month_ break. I bet after two weeks in Mobile you’re gonna be missing the noise.”

 

Eugene shrugged before he attempted to refocus on his notes again. Deep down Eugene knew the real reason why he thought about going back home to Mobile for spring break, he just didn’t want to say it out loud.

 

“I think I need a break from studying,” Eugene decided as he shoved his school materials to the opposite side of his desk. “I’m gonna go grab some coffee; you wanna come with?”

 

 “I’m up for anything that’ll tear me away from this shit,” Sidney exclaimed before he sprung off of his bed. “Let’s get out of here.”

 

The weather outside was unfairly gorgeous; as they passed by the packed library Eugene could make out a number of faces that stared longingly out the window. A number of students were spread out across the Quad on blankets and beach towels with their textbooks lying untouched while they tossed Frisbees and footballs and blared music; Eugene was sure he heard the familiar sound of Ray Person singing from somewhere across the Quad. It always seemed as if exam weeks coincided with the nicest weeks of the semester.

 

The closest campus café was thankfully empty when they arrived and once they got their coffees, Sidney managed to convince Eugene to extend their study break even more. The two friends took a seat on one of the unoccupied benches in the sun that faced the Quad and together they watched a group of guys play a game of football.

 

Eugene was halfway through his large coffee when Sidney spoke up.

 

“So how have you been?” Sidney asked suddenly.

 

“Uh, alright, Sid. Stressed out over exams, just like everyone else,” Eugene answered while he gave his best friend a look of confusion. “You see me every day; do you really have to ask?”

 

“Just making sure my best friend is okay,” Sidney responded in a defensive tone. “And I _have_ been seeing you every day; I remember a time last semester when I hardly saw you at all.”

 

“Just guess I’m not as busy as last semester,” Eugene shrugged as he continued to watch the football game in the distance.

 

“You’re not tutoring Snafu this semester, are you?” Sidney asked.

 

“Nope,” Eugene answered after a pause while he fiddled with the cardboard cozy on his coffee cup.

 

“Why? I thought that system you had worked out really well for Snafu; you told me how well he did last semester.”

 

“Yeah well, I guess he figured that he could manage to do well without my help this semester,” Eugene answered in a cool tone while he tried to ignore the constricting sensation he got in his chest whenever he thought about Shelton. “He’s an adult. He doesn’t have to have a tutor if he doesn’t want to. Why are you asking about this anyways, Sid?”

 

“I just couldn’t help but notice that Snafu has been rather absent lately,” Sidney answered quickly. “I don’t know, Eugene, I just remember a time when if you two weren’t in the same room together you were probably texting each other.”

 

Eugene couldn’t help but frown while he avoided Sidney’s gaze at all cost; he too could remember a time where he and Shelton talked every day.

 

“I just wanted to know what happened between you two because you guys seemed like really good friends,” he continued before he added quietly with a hint of red in his face, “and to be honest at times you guys seemed like you were headed towards something more than friends-”

 

“Sidney.”

 

“I’m sorry, Eugene, I’m just telling it like it is,” he exclaimed as he raised his hands in defense. “Now you don’t have to tell me what happened if you don’t want to but the way I see it is something happened between you two. You’ve been acting sort of depressed this last month or two and I can’t help but think this is Shelton’s fault-”

 

“Sid,” Eugene started with a shake of his head.

 

“And if this _is_ Shelton’s fault, as your best friend I feel like I should know so that I can properly kick his ass for making you look like such a kicked puppy lately.”

 

Eugene didn’t respond; instead he busied himself with finishing off the rest of his coffee. He appreciated Sidney’s offer but he wasn’t some dumb little kid anymore that needed to be defended whenever something happened to him; he could deal with this on his own.

 

“I just remembered I needed to print out something for class and our printer is out of ink again,” Eugene said calmly a minute later as he stood up and tossed his empty coffee cup into the nearby trashcan. “I’m gonna go run back into the library. I’ll meet you back in the room.”

 

“Sure, Eugene,” Sidney nodded as he got up off of the bench. After all the years he spent with Eugene he knew better than to push him when he didn’t want to talk about something; Eugene might seem calm and mild mannered but Sidney knew that underneath all that southern politeness was a temper that could probably shut up the likes of Speirs and Colbert. “See you in a bit.”

 

Eugene waved goodbye to his friend before he reentered the library. He didn’t actually need to print anything off for class; he just needed an escape from Sidney before he pried into the issue any further. Eugene appreciated that his friend noticed that something was wrong with him but he was not ready to talk about his problems with Shelton just yet, mostly because he was still trying to sort out what exactly had happened himself.

 

Things between him and Shelton had seemingly gone from amazing to awkward overnight after that night at the hospital and their ‘date’. After the hospital Merriell had been distant with him but Eugene at the time did not think it was too concerning; a lot of people were a bit off after the incident. Once things seemed to return to normal in Hanks House and classes began to intensify Eugene offered to help Merriell out with his classes again but he declined over a text message. Merriell said that he felt he was able to handle his classwork on his own this semester and while Eugene was proud of his friend’s confidence he was upset; he enjoyed the extra time spent with Merriell while he helped him with his classes. Losing tutoring time with Merriell had been manageable, it allowed him more time for his own studies and gave him time to hang out with other friends, but things only seemed to get worse from there.

 

All though January and into February Merriell was distant with Eugene; he rarely responded to his texts and when he did it was almost always done to decline an offer to hang out or get food together. Eugene told himself that his friend was just focused on school work and that eventually the work would let up and they would get a chance to catch up but inside he knew that the cause for the distance was something else. It felt awful to do it, but Eugene forced himself to stop texting Merriell and told himself to wait until he contacted Eugene; unsurprisingly, his inbox remained rather empty.

 

Valentine’s Day was the first time he had really talked to Merriell since the hospital. It had been so painfully wonderful to sit with Merriell at his side for a few hours while they watched movies, laughed, and smoked. When Eugene fell asleep that night he was sure that whatever weirdness had transpired between the two of them had been put to sleep and the next morning everything would be back to normal.

 

Eugene realized just how wrong he was when he woke up alone on his dorm room floor the next morning.

 

If the message hadn’t been clear to Eugene before he didn’t think if could have been any clearer then when he was picking himself off the floor with the faint smells of cigarettes still in the air: Shelton didn’t want anything to do with Eugene anymore.

 

Feeling overwhelmed with a mix of emotions, Eugene exited the library and headed in the opposite direction of Hanks House.

 

* * *

 

_“Well, Lewis this is quite the surprise.”_

 

“What’s a surprise?” Lewis asked as he leaned against the wall of his dorm room with his cell phone pressed to his ear. “You’re the one who called me.”

 

_“It’s a surprise that you actually picked up the phone for once,”_ his mother continued. “ _I swear do you live to make your mother worried sick? You never pick up your phone, Lewis.”_

 

“I answered sometimes, mom,” Lewis countered. “But I’m a busy guy; I can’t always answer when you call.”

 

_“You could at least call me back from time to time. Send me a text message even. I swear sometimes I wonder if you’ve been kidnapped or if you’re lying in a gutter somewhere with how infrequently you talk to me.”_

 

“Sorry, Mom,” Lewis relented. He was aware of the fact that he could probably try a little harder to keep in touch with his mother and he did feel guilty about it; returning his mother’s missed phone calls always seemed to slip his mind for whatever reason. “So is that the only reason why you called? To tell me to pick up the phone more often?”

 

_“No, I have another reason. I was wondering what your plans are for spring break.”_

 

“Spring break?” Lewis asked. “I don’t think I have any plans. I was just gonna stay here; most of the guys are staying here for the week. Why?”

 

_“Well I was wondering if you wanted to come back home for the week,”_ his mother continued. _“And before you ask, no, your father won’t be here. We’re still finalizing the divorce but right now he’s staying at the penthouse in New York and I’m at the house in New Jersey.”_

 

“I don’t know, mom,” Lewis said uncertainly; he wouldn’t mind seeing his mother again but the idea of staying in the house he hated so much made his skin crawl a little.

 

“ _Please, Lewis? I haven’t seen you since Thanksgiving. I miss you,”_ she said softly, which quickly made Nix feel like a piece of shit. “ _I know we haven’t had the best relationship but I would really like to fix that before it’s too late and I’d really appreciate it if you came home. I understand that you want to spend time with your friends and I know college kids have all these plans for spring break but if you’re planning on just sitting around campus, I’d just really appreciate it if you came back home.”_

 

Nixon was quiet for a long moment. He was touched. His mother, who always seemed to let Stan’s bullshit slide as long as it didn’t disrupt her life too much, not only tossed Stan to the side but she wanted to fix whatever crumbling relationship they had left. Nix had met a fair number of shit parents in his lifetime but he had only met one or two who had not only acknowledged their problems but tried to fix them. His mother wasn’t perfect and neither was he; they both needed to put in the effort to change.

 

“Sure, mom,” he conceded. “Yeah, I’ll come home for break.”

 

_“You will?”_ she sounded honestly surprised.

 

“Yeah, I don’t have anything planned here for break. Why not?”

 

_“Oh, Lewis, I’m so happy,”_ she exclaimed. _“And you know what, why don’t you ask your boyfriend if he would like to come along with you?”_

“What?” Nix stuttered while some of the warm, hopeful feeling escaped him.

 

_“Yeah, invite him along. You got to meet his family right? It’s only fair that I get to meet him too,”_ she insisted. “ _If he’s busy or has plans I understand but I_ would _like to meet the boy who has clearly made my son so happy.”_

 

“Um, I’ll have to ask him and see what his plans are,” Nix muttered. “But even if he can’t I’ll still come home.”

 

_“Good, I’m glad. Just let me know within a couple days if I need one ticket or two.”_

 

“I will. But I gotta go mom. I’ll talk to you later.”

 

_“Alright. See you soon, Lewis.”_

 

“Bye.”

 

Once the call ended Nixon let the phone drop to his bed. To be completely honest he was never thrilled with the idea of spending time at his childhood home. The fact that Stan had been kicked out definitely softened the blow but there was still too many bad memories there for Lewis to ever really be comfortable there. Bringing Dick back with him would definitely give him a nice distraction but for whatever reason the idea of bringing Dick back home to meet his mother unnerved him. If Nixon had to guess why he was hesitant, he figured it was because if Dick were to come back with him, Dick would finally see just how different their lives were.

 

It was no secret to Lewis or Dick that they had lived extremely different lives and it was often a source of great conversation. When Nixon went home with Dick for winter break he had been pleased but completely unsurprised with Dick’s home life. Everything oozed rural charm and a simplicity that Lew had come to associate with Dick. While Dick never tried to shy away from his upbringing and family, Lewis knew that he was rarely doing anything else. Sure, there were instances of his home life that spilled over into his life at PCU, like how he had a predilection to top shelf alcohol and the occasional tale from a family trip overseas, but for the most part Lewis tried to separate himself from his upper class upbringing. In the back of his mind Lewis wondered how Dick would react to the Lewis Nixon that attended boarding schools, took trips across the globe, and, when it came to material things, never lived a life of want. He knew it was ludicrous to think, but a part of him wondered if Dick would be uncomfortable with that part of him, possibly wouldn’t accept it.

 

“Lew,” Dick’s soft voice sounded from the other side of his dorm room door before it was quickly followed by a gentle knock.

 

“Come in,” Lew called out.

 

“Hey,” Dick greeted him before he sat down on the edge of Nixon’s bed. “What’ve you been up to?”

 

“Nothing much,” he answered before he glanced down at the phone at his side. “Talked to my mom.”

 

“That’s nice. What did she want?” Dick asked pleasantly.

 

“Nothing much,” Nixon lied after a brief moment of deliberation. “Just checking in on me. Making sure I’m not lying in a ditch somewhere.”

 

“Important information a mother should know,” Dick smiled while Nix felt his stomach clench slightly; he didn’t like lying to Dick, it made him feel wrong, but right now Nixon wasn’t sure how best to breach the subject or even if he wanted Dick to come back with him. For right now he figured it was best to stay quiet. “I just stopped by to see if you wanted to go get something to eat.”

 

“Yeah, I could eat,” Nixon answered, grateful for a change of subject. “Could use a bacon sandwich.”

 

“Only if that comes with some vegetables,” Dick sighed as he got off of the bed. “Honestly you have got to take better care of yourself, Lew.”

 

“Okay, maybe I’ll make it a BLT, Dick, ya happy?” Nix asked as he followed his boyfriend’s move.

 

“Just trying to keep you around longer,” Dick said as they walked out of Nixon’s room and to the stairwell.

 

* * *

 

Lipton let out a heavy sigh before he flipped his finances text book shut and leaned back in his desk chair. His first midterm exam wasn’t until tomorrow afternoon but he already felt confident that he knew all the material he would need to ace the exam. Carwood didn’t know if there was ever a time this past school year where he had managed to finish studying with so much time to spare; he remembered midterm season last semester and how between classes and helping others it seemed like he was always studying until the last second for his exams.

 

_I should go see how everyone else is holding up,_ Carwood thought to himself as he yawned and got out of his less than comfortable desk chair.

 

It was impossible not to notice the fact that he was definitely less busy than last midterm season. Last semester he was helping out with at least one study group every day along with offering aid to many Hanks House residents randomly throughout the day, all while he worked around his own study schedule. Finals last semester had been a little less chaotic since a couple of the guys within Hanks House helped out with study groups and Luz almost singlehandedly eliminated most of the end of the semester stress with his Jolly St. Luz routine. This round of exams, however, was completely different from either instance. It was Tuesday afternoon and he had only had a handful of guys stop by over the last few days to ask him a quick question.

 

It was strange.

 

Once out in the hallway Lipton found the fifth floor in its usual middle of the day, exam week state: tense silence interspersed with the occasional shout of frustration or the clattering sound that came from a person shoving all of their notes and textbooks onto the floor. Some of the guys were still in class or at the library and some of the guys had their doors shut tight so as to better keep out any distracting influences but a handful of the doors on the fifth floor were open.

 

Lip headed down to the end of the hall and peered into room 504; Buck sat on the floor while several piles of notes spread out in front of him while Malarkey sat at his desk, head in his hand, looking particularly beaten down by his chemistry notes in front of him. Lip reached out and knocked on the open door, startling both of the young men slightly.

 

“Heya, Lip,” Buck greet with a smile as Carwood leaned against the doorframe. “How’s it going?”

 

“Pretty good, Buck. Finished studying for my finance exam so I thought I’d take a walk,” Lip answered. “How are you guys holding up?”

 

“Poly-sci is handing my ass to me,” Buck admitted with a grin as he glanced down at his notes in front of him. “I don’t recommend it.”

 

“Well I’ll keep that in mind. You know I’m pretty sure Andy took a couple poly-sci classes; I bet he could help you out, maybe point you in the direction of someone who could.”

 

“Maybe I’ll ask him later,” Buck shrugged. “Thanks for the advice, Lip.”

 

“No problem, Buck,” Lip said before he turned to the ginger haired man. “And how are you doing, Don?”

 

“Uh, I’m doing alright, I guess,” Malarkey answered with a tired sigh.

 

“What’re you studying for?”

 

“Chemistry 1260,” he answered. “Got until Thursday to work my way through this textbook of a study guide.”

 

“I took that last semester,” Lip responded. “I still have my notes and the old tests; if you wanted to look them over I could go grab them. Or if you needed some help with a problem I could help you out; I’ve pretty much caught up with my studying for right now.”

 

Lipton watched as Malarkey exchanged a quick glance with Buck before he shook his head.

 

“Nah, I think I’m getting it, Lip, but thanks for the offer,” Malarkey declined.

 

“Really? No offense but you kinda look like you could use some help,” Carwood said gently.

 

“I’m just tired,” Malarkey reassured him. “I think after a break I should be okay.”

 

“Well, if you change your mind you know you can always drop by my room,” Lipton said slowly, feeling a little out of place.

 

“Thanks, Lip. Maybe I’ll stop by later for those notes.”

 

“Alright. Just text me if you want them,” he said before he stepped back into the hall and headed toward the other end of the hall while he tried to shake off the weird feeling he got from the exchange between him and Don. Lip walked until he reached room 511 and found Frank flipping idly through a thick textbook; Carwood could hear his annoyed mutterings from the doorway.

 

“Hey, Perconte,” Lip greeted Frank as he knocked on the open door.

 

“Oh, hey, Lip,” Frank said as he turned around to face him. “You looking for Luz?”

 

“No, I’m just seeing how everyone’s holding up,” Lipton answered. “How’s your studying going?”

 

“Great, it’s going great, Lip,” Frank answered in a bright voice that did not work with his beaten down expression. “I’m gonna ace this exam.”

 

“Oh _really?”_ Lipton asked, sensing something was up.

 

“Yup,” Frank persisted. “Everything is totally under control, Lip.”

 

“Frank-”

 

“Heya, Lip!” George exclaimed as he walked up behind Carwood, cutting him off. “What’re you up to?”     

 

“Just checking up on the other guys. Seeing how everyone’s doing,” Carwood answered.

 

“Well if you ask me everyone looks under control around here,” Luz said as he clapped Lip on his back.

 

“Yeah…”

 

“How’s your studying going, Lip?” George asked.

 

“Good. Great even. Just finishing studying for my finance class so I thought I’d take a break, make sure everyone was doing okay.”

 

“Everyone’s doing great, Lip, don’t worry about it,” Luz insisted before he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. “Hey, just got a fresh pack of Lucky Strikes; wanna join me for a smoke?”

 

“Uh, sure, George,” Carwood agreed.

 

“Hey, Perc, you wanna come too?”

 

“Luz, you know I don’t smoke,” Frank said in a tired voice.

 

“Just figured I’d be polite and offer,” Luz said before he wrapped an arm around Lipton’s shoulders and lead him towards the stairwell.

 

Together they went down the five flights of stairs and walked until they reached the row of benches that sat across from Hanks House and were situated in the warm afternoon sunshine.

 

“Now don’t go telling your boyfriend that I’ve been enabling your bad habit,” Luz said as he lit Lipton’s cigarette for him. “I happen to like my face the way it is.”

 

“Relax, George,” Lipton smiled after he exhaled a puff of smoke. “Ron is not gonna beat you up over this; he’s seen me smoke with the other guys plenty of times and Ron hasn’t fought any of them.”

 

“Okay but none of them were the corrupting influence who got you to smoke in the first place. I am. And if _Ron_ ever finds out I’m gonna get my ass handed to me,” Luz said before he turned to Lip with a serious expression on his face. “So if you ever let slip that it was me, be a pal and let me know so that I can make a run for it.”

 

“George,” Carwood said with a tiny shake of his head and a smile. “Ron already knows it was you.”

 

“What?” Luz exclaimed with wide eyes. “Since when?”

 

“A while now,” Lip shrugged.

 

“Why’d you tell him? Do you _want_ me to get thrown out of a window?”

 

“First off, George, I know you’re one of the few people on campus who know that those rumors are bullshit-”

 

“Hey I’m still investigating the house party-dart incident rumors,” Luz cut in.

 

“Why don’t you just ask Ron if it’s bullshit or not,” Lipton sighed, still smiling because he knew Luz was just messing with him.

 

“If I ask him he’d just do that creepy smile thing and give me some vague answer because despite what you may think, your boyfriend is kind of an asshole who loves to watch people squirm.”

 

“Okay, Luz. Keep investigating then.”

 

“But you actually told him that I corrupted you?” Luz asked after a pause.

 

“While I didn’t exactly use that wording, yes, I told him,” Lip answered while he rolled his eyes at Luz’s phrasing. “I tell Ron everything.”

 

“You know, a lot of the guys are still kinda confused about you two but I get it,” George said slowly. “You’re good together and I can tell you two actually genuinely care about each other. I mean like, I’m still a little confused on how someone who seems as sane and normal as you would go for bat-shit Speirs but you know what they say: you don’t pick who you fall in love with.”

 

“Right, George,” Carwood sighed while he tried to ignore the George’s last comment. “Thanks for the support.”

 

“No problem,” Luz said before he flicked his cigarette bud across the sidewalk and reached for another cigarette.

 

“So how’s your studying going?” Lip asked after he accepted another cigarette from Luz.

 

“Ehh, stats are bitch but I think I’ll pull through,” he murmured around his cigarette. “And how are you doing? You’re not overworking yourself by trying to help every single person in the dorm are you?”

 

“No, George. You’ll be glad to know that only a few guys have asked me for some help over the past few days,” Carwood answered before he decided to move toward what was bothering him. “It’s really strange, almost unbelievable really, that almost no one’s asked for help when last semester there were guys running in and out of my room at all hours of the day.”

 

“Well everyone knows how sick you got after you worked yourself half to death, Lip,” Luz shrugged while he stared straight ahead. “They probably all feel guilty about it and don’t want it to happen again.”

 

“Uh huh,” Lip mumbled, sounding extremely skeptical. “I’m sure that’s the reason why.”

 

Luz didn’t response; he knew exactly why almost no one had asked Lipton for help this round of exams but he wasn’t about to tell him.

 

About a week ago he had been relaxing with some of the guys in the common room when none other than Ron Speirs walked up to him and asked if they could talk in private. Luz remembered the look of fear most of the guys had on their faces at Speirs request and he almost laughed; Lipton was right when he said that Luz was one of the few who knew the rumors were fake or highly exaggerated.

 

Once the two men were alone Ron had gotten straight to the point.

 

“Exams start up next week and I know you are well aware of the strain that Carwood tends to put himself under for the sake of others,” Ron had begun. “Carwood claims that he isn’t going to put himself through the same thing that happened last semester but I know and I know you know that this is one instance where he _will_ go back on his word the second someone comes running to him for help.”

 

“Lip’s a good guy and he can’t and won’t say no to anyone, even if it means putting his own needs on the backburner,” Luz had responded. “So what’s your point?”

 

“I don’t want him to have to choose between helping others and helping himself,” Ron had continued.

 

“Okay… so how are you going to go about doing that?”

 

“ _We_ are going to eliminate that decision all together,” Ron had said slowly and seriously. “I know that you’re really good friends with Carwood and you try to help him when he wears himself out so I’m sure you won’t mind helping me keep the guys away from him so that he doesn’t run himself into the ground again.”

 

“Okay but when you say ‘eliminate’, like, do you plan on actually _eliminating_ the guys who try to bug Lip or what? Do I need to help you bury the bodies?”

 

“I don’t think we need to go to that extent yet,” Speirs had answered with a hint of a smile on his face. “No, what I need from you is information; I’m assuming that you have dirt on most if not all the guys in the dorm, right?”

 

So George agreed to help Speirs keep Lipton’s stress to a minimum this exam week. After Luz dished out some, but definitely not all, of the guys transgressions that went unreported and unnoticed, he was mostly just in charge of running interference and keeping the guys away from Lipton’s door while Speirs did the bulk of the work. Ron would use his usual scare tactics to keep most of the guys away and those who weren’t swayed by his dead eyed expression or his cloak of insane rumors would be casually reminded, not _blackmailed_ despite what Luz said, of incidents that they would rather not get reported.

 

A part of George felt a little uneasy about helping Speirs to threaten some of his best friends but when he thought about how sick Lip got last semester and how he would almost definitely do it all again this semester he felt a little better about it.

 

Lipton took care of everyone around here; it was definitely time that someone took care of him for once.

 

* * *

 

Eugene told himself that he wasn’t going to contact Shelton again but after talking to Sidney earlier and rethinking everything that had happened, he broke. After a long, lonely walk around the campus Eugene gave in and sent Shelton a text asking how he was. Eugene turned off his cell phone after the message sent and then headed for the nearest gas station to pick up a pack of cigarettes; ever since that night with Shelton he had unfortunately picked up the bad habit of smoking. Eugene walked back to Hanks House, headed up to the roof, and found it thankfully empty. He leaned against the perimeter wall and lit himself a cigarette before he dared to turn on his cell phone. Eugene waited for a long moment for his phone to vibrate with a new text message from Shelton but it never came. Worst of all when he checked his text conversation underneath his sent text there was a small notification that it had been read and dully ignored.

 

As Eugene shoved his cell phone back into his pants pocket he tried to ignore the hollow, crushing feeling he got and tried even more to not feel ridiculous for getting so upset over an ignored text message.

 

_This is pathetic_ , Eugene thought angrily as he stared out into the distance.

 

Eugene knew, and had known for quite a while, that this was so much more than one friend ignoring another; it was something stronger than that.

 

Eugene didn’t think he could pinpoint the moment exactly that it had happened but he knew for sure now, feeling so dejected and forlorn after another rejection, that he was in love with Merriell.

 

There had been a few instances when Eugene knew that he felt something different when it came to Merriell but for the most part he had shoved it away and ignored it; it was simpler this way. Now however, Eugene knew that there was no ignoring it.

 

He was in love with Merriell Shelton.

 

He was in love and Shelton didn’t want anything to do with him anymore.

 

_He probably knows_ , Eugene thought to himself as he burned through another cigarette. _He probably realized it before I did… and that’s why he’s not talking to me anymore… he doesn’t want me to get any ideas._

 

“Fine,” Eugene said firmly to no one while anger and sadness turned inside of him. “He doesn’t like me like that, it’s fine. I get it.”

 

_It’s not fine_ , Eugene thought in the back of his head. _I don’t get it. I thought… I thought that maybe he could have liked me back._

 

“He doesn’t have to be an ass about it,” Eugene growled as he angrily flicked the ashes off of the end of his cigarette. “We could have still been just friends.”

 

The longer Eugene stayed on the roof, the angrier he found himself getting. He was angry at Shelton and he was angry at himself. He was angry at Shelton for making him feel like shit for so long, for ignoring him like a wimp, for making him consider skipping out on all the fun he could have with the other guys over spring break. He was angry at himself for falling for someone like this and for wasting so much time holding onto the hope that maybe Shelton would grow up and talk to him.

 

Eugene was angry and in love and he wasn’t quite sure what he was going to do about it. All he knew for sure was that he was not going to go running back to his mommy for a week and miss out on the fun just because Shelton had upset him. No, sir, he was gonna stick it out right here; Shelton was not going to get the best of him anymore.

 

* * *

  

“So I was talking to Evan earlier today and I guess over break he wants to have a road trip and check out this giant bookstore that’s nearby,” Webster said as he sat on his bed Wednesday morning. “Sounds fun. You wanna come? Room for one more in Evan’s Jeep.”

 

“Would love to but I can’t,” Leckie answered. “I’m going home for spring break.”

 

“Really?” Webster asked in surprise.

 

“Yeah,” Leckie said, looking as if he couldn’t believe it himself.

 

“Thought you were staying here.”

 

“My mom called yesterday and asked if I wanted to come home,” Leckie shrugged. “Something about my brother getting engaged or something. And I figured I could swap out some of my books, bring some of the stuff I don’t need any more back home so that it’s easier when we move out.”

 

“That’s smart,” Webster agreed while he tried not to focus on what he was going to do when everyone moved out for the summer.

 

“At least you’ll be able to enjoy the room by yourself,” Leckie reminded him. “Who else is staying?”

 

“A lot of the guys actually,” Web answered. “I think more guys are staying than leaving.”

 

“Well then you’ll have plenty of company,” Leckie pointed out. “No class and most of the fifth floor let loose on campus? You’ll have a blast.”

 

“And yet you’re choosing to go home for break?” Webster asked, still not quite understanding what Leckie was doing. When Leckie shrugged, David decided to go a different route. “Is Vera staying here or going back home?”

 

“Uh, she is also headed back home to New Jersey, believe it or not,” Leckie said with a guilty grin.

 

“Well now I get it,” David said with a shake of his head.

 

“Shut up.”

 

“Are you gonna have Vera meet your family?”

 

“Yeah because that’s exactly what this relationship needs, the strong opinions of some older, Catholic people, there’s no way that could send her running for the hills,” Leckie said dryly. “I’m going to keep Vera as far away from my family as possible.”

 

“Are you going to meet _her_ parents?”

 

“If she asked I’d probably agree,” Leckie answered slowly; they had only been together for a month but if he were being honest things between them already felt so serious. “But she hasn’t said anything about it.”

 

“Hey, Web” Joe interrupted as he paused in their open doorway. “Why aren’t you answering your phone?”

 

“Sorry, Joe,” Web apologized as he glanced at his bedside table where his cell phone sat, screen filled with notifications from Joe.

 

“Ehh, it’s alright,” Joe shrugged before he crossed the room and collapsed on the empty space on Web’s bed. Joe reached out, grabbed one of Web’s extra pillows from behind his back, and shoved it under his own head. “So, what were you two talking about?”

 

“Spring Break plans,” David answered. “Leckie’s going home.”

 

“I’m assuming he’s being dragged there against his will,” Joe said as he stared at Leckie.

 

“Nope. My choice.”

 

“Are you actually Leckie?” Joe asked as he sat up. “Or have you been replaced my some super robot that just looks a lot like Leckie?”

 

“Vera’s going home, too,” Web supplied.

 

“Okay now I get it,” Joe said, lying back down.

 

“There are other reasons to go back,” Leckie said.

 

“Yeah, sure, Leck, because you didn’t run to the very opposite side of the country to get away from your home.”

 

“Whatever, Lieb,” Leckie huffed. “What are your plans? Staying here or going back to San Fran?”

 

“I’m going home,” Joe answered. “A chance at getting away from the constant smell of sweaty socks and some home cooking? Hell yeah.” Joe then tilted his head so that he was looking up at his boyfriend. “Hey, when’s your last exam on Friday? I’m done at one-thirty and I wanna try to leave before the traffic sets in.”

 

“What are you talking about?” David asked in confusion.

 

“Do you have amnesia or something? What have you been talking about for the past five minutes?” Joe asked; when David continued to look confused, Joe elaborated. “You are coming back to Frisco with me, right? Or are you planning on going back to Jersey to meet Leckie’s parents?”

 

“Wait, what?”

 

“Maybe if you looked at my texts you’d know what I was talking about,” Joe huffed before he grabbed Webster’s phone off of the bedside table, unlocked it, and shoved his text conversation under Webster’s nose. “I was trying to ask you about when you wanted to leave Friday.”

 

“You never asked if I wanted to come…”

 

“Sorry, I just figured that you would have put two and two together. Unless you don’t wanna come back with me,” Joe added. “You don’t have to. You can stay here for break if that’s what makes you happy. But you gotta call my mom and tell her you’re not coming because she’s gonna be bummed.”

 

“Really?” David asked softly.

 

“Hell yeah,” Joe said. “She’s got the guest room all ready for you. And she wanted me to let you know that she’s making her lasagna that you liked so much; just for you.”

 

David blinked and stared at his hands while he tried to sort out the overwhelming emotions that were attacking him. Joe’s mother was excited to have him over again and even planned on making him one of his favorite meals for him. Joe’s family had everything ready for him without even asking him. He had a family who was excited to see him, happy to have him; it might not be his own family but he it was infinitely times better than nothing. He looked up at Leckie and found him smiling widely at him.

 

“Yeah, Joe,” David said as he refocused his gaze onto his boyfriend. “Of course I want to stay with you and your family.”

 

“Good,” Joe smiled. “But fair warning, Beth and Izzy are still gonna be around and I’m sure Elana and Abigail will think of an excuse to make an appearance and annoy the shit out of us.”

 

“I think I can deal with that stipulation,” David smiled before he bent down and kissed Joe.

 

“Okay, you know what? I sort of miss the fighting,” Leckie said before he was greeted with two middles fingers.

 

* * *

 

“Fucking Christ,” Babe swore to himself before he slammed his algebra book closed and got up from his desk chair.

 

He had just spent the better part of last two hours staring down at his algebra text book while he tried to work through a never-ending study guide with little progress. Babe was stuck but luckily he knew someone who would be able to help him out. Babe stepped out into the hallway but before he could knock on Lip’s closed dorm room, a voice stopped him.

 

“Heya, Babe, what’s up?” Luz asked as he walked towards him quickly.

 

“Need to ask Lip for some help with this algebra shit,” Babe answered as he gestured to the textbook under his arm. “Honestly I don’t fucking understand half of this shit; I mean what the fuck are the point of matrices?”

 

“Couldn’t tell ya, Babe, but what I can tell you is that I think Lip just ran out for a bite to eat so you might wanna try again later,” Luz explained.

 

“Fucking perfect,” Babe sighed.

 

“Sorry, Babe,” Luz apologized. “Maybe you could find someone else to help you out. I know a bunch of the guys have taken algebra before and could help you out. I mean, I’d offer to help you out with your math right now but I bet you could probably find someone a little more mathematically inclined to help you.”

 

“I’d definitely put money on that bet, Luz,” Babe teased.

 

“ _Hey_.”

 

“I’ll talk to you later, Luz,” Babe continued.

 

Babe turned and was about to head down the hall to see if maybe Gene was in his room and could help him out when he noticed the door to 506 was open; Babe peered inside and found Eugene sitting on the floor in front of his television while he flipped through the channels.

 

“Hey, Sledge,” Babe said as he poked his head into the room.

 

“Hey, Babe,” Eugene responded while a smile came to his face. “What’s up?”

 

“Do you think you could help me out?”

 

“Depends on what you’re asking.”

 

“Nothing illegal, don’t worry, just algebra. Although if I had it my way, I’d probably make algebra illegal,” Babe said as he entered the room and sat down on the floor next to his friend.

 

“Yeah well if things went your way every Phillies game would be a national holiday.”

 

“You say that like it’s a bad thing, Eugene,” Babe said with shake of his head before he opened his text book to the most offensive problems.

 

“So, what’s your problem?”

 

Thankfully Eugene was able to help Babe work through his problem rather quickly and after Sledge helped Babe work through the section of example problems, the two friends shoved the math problems to the side and turned up volume on the television in front of them.

 

“How are you and the Doc?” Eugene asked after they were through an episode and a half of the Simpsons. “Have any marital spats yet or are you still in the honeymoon phase?”

 

“Honestly, between you and Bill,” Babe sighed with a shake of his head. “Who knew that a bunch of guys would be so damn nosy when it came to relationships?”

 

“I’m just making sure Roe is treating my friend right,” Eugene said. “Is that such a crime?”

 

“Me and Gene are fine, thank you for asking,” Babe answered. “But I am definitely not telling you what _phase_ my relationship is.”

 

 “You know what, Babe, that’s fine with me because I don’t think I ever want to hear the details of what goes on between you and the Doc behind closed doors,” Eugene grinned, which earned him a pillow to the face.

 

“And how’s single life treating you?” Babe asked; he immediately regretted asking the question when he saw the smile slip from Eugene’s face.

 

“Not treating me as well as it has in the past,” Eugene admitted before he quickly added, “but it’s nothing serious, don’t worry about it, Babe.”

 

“You can talk about it if you want, Eugene,” Babe said kindly. “I’ve noticed you’ve been kinda down lately and I was wondering… is this about Snafu?”

 

Eugene turned to look at Babe. Two days in a row he was being asked about this. Yesterday when Sidney asked him a similar question he brushed it off but now that he had accepted why exactly he felt so upset by Shelton ditching him Eugene thought he could talk about it.

 

“Shelton stopped talking to me,” Eugene started out. “He’s barely talked to me this entire semester.”

 

“What happened?” Babe asked. “You guys were so close; half the guys thought you guys were gonna start dating or something.”

 

“So did I,” Eugene admitted quietly.

 

“What happened?” Babe asked again.

 

“I guess it all started to change the night I went to the hospital,” Eugene began.

 

He was careful to phrase it this way instead of another way that would directly remind Babe of the other things that had happened on that night; Eugene knew that it was unavoidable for Babe to not think about those things but he figured this way would soften the blow a little.

 

“Because of you heart,” Babe added with a faraway look in his eyes; Eugene knew that he fighting to keep his mind in the present and to not fall back into dark memories.

 

“Yeah,” Eugene continued; besides Shelton and Sidney, Babe was the only other person in Hanks House who knew about his condition ever since Eugene had recently confided in him about it. “Shelton basically ran to the hospital and harassed a nurse to get to me and then he stayed the entire night with me… But then once we get back to campus, he just changed. He stopped wanting to hang out with me, told me he didn’t need me to tutor him anymore, eventually he stopped responding to my texts all together.”

 

“And he never gave you a reason?”

 

“No,” he answered.

 

“That’s fucked up.”

 

“Oh wait, it gets better,” Eugene said dryly while he tried to ignore the dull ache he felt in his chest. “On Valentine’s Day he stopped by my room and he actually sat down with me and we chilled for a couple hours and it seemed like everything was back to normal.”

 

“I’m guessing there’s a ‘but’ to this story.”

 

“ _But_ I fell asleep and when I woke up it was just me alone on the floor and ever since then he hasn’t talked to me at all,” Eugene concluded. “I get the feeling he realized that I like him more than as just friends and he freaked out or something.”

 

“You don’t deserve that kind of treatment, Eugene,” Babe said angrily. “That’s not fair.”

 

“Yeah well, what am I gonna do about it? He doesn’t respond to my texts and he avoids me at all costs now. I talked to Liebgott and he’s barely ever in his room anymore.”

 

“I’ll talk to Gene about it,” Babe declared. “If anyone can knock some sense into Snafu, it’s Gene.”

 

“Babe, no, just don’t worry about it,” Eugene insisted. “If Roe gets involved it’s just going to make this situation ten times more complicated than it already is.”

 

“You can’t just let him get away with this bullshit; you gotta confront him about it-”

 

“And I’m gonna,” Eugene said firmly. “I’ll track him down soon and talk to him. But until then just leave it be, alright? I can fight my own battles, Babe.”

 

Babe had no doubt that Eugene could take care of Shelton on his own but just because he could didn’t necessarily mean he should. Babe wasn’t quite sure why, maybe it was because of how he grew up with hordes of friends and family constantly ready to back him up whenever something went down, but Babe didn’t think Eugene should have to go at this alone.

 

Yes, Babe realized that he probably should respect Eugene’s wishes and stay out of his business but in his past eighteen years of life when had any of his friends ever stayed out of his personal business?  

 

* * *

  

“Alright, gentlemen, Operation Spring Breakers is underway but we still have a lot of ground to cover if we want the party Friday to be the best party ever thrown on Pacific Coast University grounds,” Ray said in a very serious and a very un-Ray like voice. “We’ve thrown some good parties in the past but we’ve been slacking as of late and we need to step up our game.”

 

Wednesday evening found a small gathering of guys from Hanks House shoved into Skinny and Walt’s tiny dorm room on the fourth floor while they attempted to work through their grand plans for the coming week.

 

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to throw the big party at the end of break?” Walt asked. “Like, the whole end with a bang thing?”

 

“Oh, Walt, you beautiful, naïve, country bumpkin,” Ray sighed with a shake of his head. “If you think we are just throwing one party over this week long pass from responsibilities you are very mistaken.”

 

“So after we through this party to top all previous parties we’re immediately gonna start working on a party to beat that one?” Penkala asked skeptically.

 

“Hell yeah, man. Isn’t college all about challenging yourself? We gotta constantly challenge ourselves to throw better parties,” Ray insisted before he returned to his unusually serious tone of voice. “So I talked to Buck and he said that his older cousin would get us everything we need as long as we pay him, along with a twenty-dollar cover charge.”

 

“Nix is apparently going back home for break but he said he was feeling charitable and would donate some of his stash for us,” Skip added.

 

“I talked to Jay and he said his older brother would get us some stuff as long as we picked it up,” Skinny spoke up. “Jay lives like, an hour away so we could always pick it up Friday.”

 

“Sounds good, guys,” Ray said with a proud nod. “I talked to a couple of the guys in Ambrose House and Speil Hall and they’ve got a lot of good hook ups set in stone.”

 

“Ambrose has a lot of upperclassmen so a bunch of those guys could just go out and get the booze themselves,” Skip pointed out.

 

“Hell yeah they can,” Ray grinned before he turned to face Luz, who stood next to him, propped against the open window with a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. “You still good to go with me to pick up the fireworks tomorrow?”

 

“Of course,” Luz answered.

 

“We should be back before Brad gets back from his exams tomorrow so we’ll be able to bring it back undetected.”

 

“Speaking of Brad, how is he gonna feel about these giant spring break extravaganzas you’re planning?” Frank asked.

 

“Brad’s not gonna have a problem with the parties, Perco,” Ray said confidently. “All of the parties are going to be held while school is not technically in session so not only does Brad not hold any authority over us but he can drop his scary Iceman routine and enjoy a party for once; Bradley wants a party just as much as the rest of us, he’s just not allowed to show it. We’ll be fine.”

 

“Whatever you say, Person,” Frank said skeptically.

 

“I talked to Buck and he said that he and a couple other guys were gonna take care of food and grilling and shit so we don’t have to worry about that,” Ray continued before he drop his business tone of voice and asked, “Do you think it’s too cold to go in the water?”

 

“Uh, yeah it is, it’s like fifty something degrees, Ray,” Walt said. “Your skinny ass would freeze.”

 

“I really like the idea of having a chicken tournament though,” Ray frowned.

 

“Playing chicken isn’t worth getting hypothermia, Ray,” Walt said tiredly.

 

“Fifty degrees isn’t that cold,” Skip scoffed. “I’ve swam in colder water before; hell, I swam across the Niagara.”

 

“Yeah and then you got pneumonia from it so you’re not exactly a ringing endorsement here, Skip,” Alex reminded him.

 

“Wait, you went over the Niagara? Like in a barrel?” George suddenly asked. “Like how they do it in the cartoons?”

 

“Oh my god, I didn’t go down the falls, Luz,” Skip exclaimed in exasperation. “I swam across it a couple miles upstream.”

 

_“Why_?” Skinny asked.

 

“Penk here bet me fifty bucks that I couldn’t do it,” Skip shrugged before he flicked his best friend in the ear.

 

“I didn’t actually think you were gonna do it. I didn’t think you’d actually be that stupid to risk your life over a bet.”

 

“And here I thought this entire time that Person was the craziest guy in this place,” Frank sighed.

 

* * *

  

Wednesday night found Babe lying side by side with Gene in his cramped dorm bed while they used Babe’s laptop to watch shows off of Netflix; after Babe had finally worked his way through his algebra packet and Gene finished working with his study group for the day they both decided a break was well deserved.

 

“So how are the kids shaping up?” Babe asked.

 

During exam weeks Gene was almost always surrounded by his flock of underclassmen pre-med students; Spina was of course one of these and so was Eugene’s friend Sidney. Renee Lemaire was also mixed into the group but long gone were the days where Babe felt jealous of her for spending so much time near Gene. Over the past month Babe had actually gotten the chance to get to know Renee and he knew now that not only was she a very sweet and caring individual but the relationship between her and Gene was very much like the one between brother and sister; Babe felt a little ridiculous now when he remembered all the hours he wasted last semester picturing the two flirting over a biology textbook.  

 

“They’re all understandably stressed and, to be honest, a couple of them are working my last nerve but I think they’ll all do well in the end,” Gene answered. “If you ask me they need to take a second to let their brains relax and let the information soak in.”

 

“Okay but asking that group to stop studying so that they can relax for a bit is like trying to move a mountain or asking Harry to not gush about Kitty for more than an hour. Poor kids are wound up tighter than a spring.”

 

“I guess I see your point,” Gene smiled as he rested his head on Babe’s shoulder. “Did you do anything besides study today?”

 

“Hung out with Sledge for a bit,” Babe answered while he tried to ignore the tickling sensation he felt whenever Gene’s hair brushed his skin. “Although he helped me study for math for most of the time so I guess I didn’t really do anything but study today.”

 

“That was nice of him to help you out,” Gene murmured as he wrapped an arm around Babe’s waist and moved closer to him. “How is he doing?”

 

For a moment Babe considered doing as Eugene asked and keeping his big mouth shut about his problem; as someone who spent the majority of his life having his friends and family meddle in his personal business he knew the irritation that came with it all too well but Babe also knew that sometimes that extra meddlesome push was needed for things to happen. Babe hated to bring up Snafu, mostly because he knew that it would put an end to the brief relaxation he had with Gene, but it needed to be done.

 

* * *

  

It took some time but Gene was eventually able to track Shelton down. No one in Hanks House seemed to know where he had run off too and he wasn’t answering his phone but thankfully Gene knew Merriell well enough to find just where he had run off to. On the opposite side of campus there was a small walking trail through a wooded area and just like several years previous, Gene found Shelton sitting at the base of a tree, alone in the woods.

 

“You know sitting all alone out here in the dark, away from your friends, somebody might think you’re trying to hide from something,” Gene said as he walked up behind Shelton, causing the other man to jump slightly.

 

“Somebody also might think I’m planning on sneaking up on joggers and killing them but that don’t mean they right either,” Shelton responded, his voice filled with annoyance. “What are you doing out here, Gene? Don’t you have studying to do?”

 

“I should be asking you the same questions,” Roe said as he stopped next to Shelton. “How _is_ your studying going by the way? You’re not doing your tutoring this semester, are you?”

 

“I got it under control. Everything is just peachy,” he snapped as he flicked his cigarette bud deeper into the forest. “You come all the way out here just to ask me that?”

 

“Well you weren’t answering your phone, haven’t been around the dorm lately,” Gene continued in a relatively light tone of voice. “I asked Eugene if he knew where you might be but, funny, he didn’t know either.”

 

Gene stared down at him for a long moment and waited for Shelton to say something, anything that might save him, but when he stayed silent Gene plowed on.

 

“You can’t just cut that kid out of your life with no explanation, Shelton.”

 

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

 

“You honestly gonna play dumb with me right now?” Gene asked, his voice rising in volume. “Everyone in the damn dorm knows something happened between you and Sledge; it ain’t that hard to notice when you go from being tied at the hip one second to hiding in the fucking woods so that you don’t have to see him. You need to go talk to the poor kid and make it right.”

 

“How do you know that _I_ did something wrong? Could have been Sledge who fucked up,” Shelton persisted stubbornly. “Way to jump to conclusions, Gene.”

 

“I ain’t jumping to conclusions because I know the whole damn story, Shelton,” Roe continued. “I know that after the hospital you stopped talking to Eugene and I know that on Valentine’s Day you tried to make nice for a couple hours before you ditched him yet again and I know you haven’t talked to him at all in a month.”

 

“Where the fuck did you hear that from?”

 

“It doesn’t matter where I heard it,” he snapped. “It’s the truth, ain’t it?”

 

Once again Shelton refused to talk; Gene took his silence as confirmation that what Babe told him was the truth.

 

“Sledge is a nice kid and he don’t deserve your bullshit, Shelton,” Gene concluded, his voice decreasing in volume but the anger remained constant. “I think he’s good for you, no matter if you’re just friends or something more. Be with Sledge, don’t be with Sledge, you’re a grown boy, Merriell, you can make your own fucking decisions. But don’t think it’s okay to string the poor kid along just because you’re too afraid to talk to him about what you’re feeling. So go talk to him, let him know where you stand. You owe him that much.”

 

Shelton waited for more words, maybe even a fist, but nothing else came. With that final declaration ringing in the air, Gene turned on his heal and headed in the opposite direction, leaving Merriell alone with his thoughts.

 

_I think he’s good for you, no matter if you’re just friends or something more… be with Sledge, don’t be with Sledge…_

 

Roe’s words rattled though Merriell’s brain while he occupied himself with lighting another cigarette.

 

_But don’t think it’s okay to string the poor kid along just because you’re too afraid to talk to him about what you’re feeling._

 

_What I’m feeling_ , Shelton thought quietly while he fiddled with is battered up lighter.

 

Merriell knew far too well what he was feeling when it came to Eugene; it became all too clear to him a few months ago while he sat at Eugene’s bedside at the hospital, gripping his hand like a lifeline.

 

He had a fucking crush on Eugene.

 

It was pathetic but there was no other word for the feeling he got whenever he spent time with Eugene or even just thought about the guy.

 

In the back of his head, Merriell figured he had had a crush on Eugene for quite a while now but he was too much of an idiot to realize it. He remembered how he would feel suddenly too warm whenever Eugene brushed against him while they walked or their legs touched when they sat next to each other and he remembered how his stomach squirmed when Eugene joked around and claimed that them getting dinner was a date, but it had taken until Shelton thought that Eugene was hurt for him to realize what he was feeling. He wondered if Eugene realized before him; it made his stomach turn to think that Eugene had known his stupid secret before he had.

 

Merriell had a giant crush on his best fucking friend; he almost wanted to laugh because of how fucked up it was. Merriell managed to make a friend like Sledge and he had to ruin it by getting some school girl crush on him; go figure.

 

Shelton had hoped that maybe if he stopped spending so much time with Eugene the feelings would go away. It was the last thing he wanted to do but he felt that if they were going to save their friendship he would have to get rid of his stupid crush first. If Merriell was sure of anything it was that if Eugene found out about how he felt, he wouldn’t want to be friends with him anymore. If Eugene were to find out the truth Merriell knew that he would try to stay friends, he was a good person like that, but in the end Merriell’s feelings would become a death sentence for their friendship.

 

Merriell realized that by ignoring Eugene for so long he wasn’t helping their friendship much either but he couldn’t see an alternative. He could either try to get rid of this stupid crush, piss Eugene off by giving him the silent treatment, and then deal with fixing their friendship once he went back to normal or he could tell Eugene about it and just have it end then and there.

 

_Your genius plan ain’t working very well though is it_? he thought to himself miserably as he kicked at a branch in front of him.

 

For a little while, Merriell thought that maybe his tactic was working but after Valentine’s Day, where it was almost painful to force himself away from Eugene after he fell asleep, he knew that his feelings hadn’t gone away at all and possibly were worse than ever before. He should have ended the bullshit then, told Eugene what was happening so that he could stop stringing him along but Merriell couldn’t yet. He didn’t want to lose Eugene completely just yet so he kept up the silent treatment in a last, desperate attempt.

_What an idiot._

 

His crush wasn’t going away anytime soon and Eugene was pissed at him. Even if his crush would disappear tomorrow Merriell had the feeling that Eugene would be too pissed with him to want to be friends with him again. Merriell didn’t blame him.

 

It figured that something like this would happen to him. Eugene had been the best thing to happen to him since the doc took pity on him and helped him out of his dad’s place and now he was going to lose him. It made sense; why should someone like Merriell Shelton deserve to have someone like Eugene Sledge in his life?

 

Gene was right: Eugene didn’t deserve his bullshit.

 

_Go talk to him… You owe him that much._

 

“I know,” Merriell said quietly to himself. “I know I have to tell him.”

 

Merriell accepted that his fucked up plan was never going to work, now he just needed to figure out a way to look Eugene in the eye and tell him why they couldn’t be friends anymore.

 

* * *

 

 

When Lewis woke up Thursday morning he found himself alone in Dick’s bed, feeling slightly disorientated; he usually had class Thursday mornings but instead of class today he had an exam later which allowed him to sleep in for once. He had stayed up late last night studying with Dick and decided he was too tired to walk across the hall to his own bed. Dick, of course, hadn’t minded; Harry had minded a little.

 

They went to bed around one or two in the morning; Dick had fallen asleep almost instantly but Lewis had had trouble falling asleep. He had a lot on his mind. Yesterday evening while he was with Dick his mother had called again to ask if he knew if Dick would be coming back with him yet. Nixon took the call out into the hallway before he told her that he still didn’t know and he promised to call back the next day with an answer.

 

Nixon knew he was overacting slightly, being so unsure if he wanted Dick to meet his mother and see how he was raised, but he couldn’t help the apprehension he felt.

 

_You need to at least let him know you’re going home for break_ , Nixon told himself while he stared up at the ceiling. _You can’t hide_ that _from him._

 

“Wakey, wakey, Nixon,” Harry said as he walked into the room with his backpack slung over his shoulder. “If you’re gonna lay in bed all day at least do it in your own room.”

 

“Morning to you too, Harry,” Nixon responded before he sat up and reached for his cell phone to check the time; it wasn’t even nine in the morning yet. “Where did you go off so early in the morning?”

 

“Had an exam,” Harry answered. “Some sadist decided eight in the morning was the perfect time for an exam.”

 

“Sucks to be you, Harry,” he yawned as he sent a quick text to Dick, asking where he ran off to.

 

“Kiss my ass, Nix,” he grumbled as he kicked off his tennis shoes. “I’m going back to bed so either shut up or go to your own room. Wait, how about you just go back to your own room, huh?”

 

“Wow, I never realized how pissy you were in the mornings,” Lewis said as he pulled the blankets back and got out of bed. “I hope Kitty knows what she’s getting into.”

 

Harry responded with a quick middle finger before he collapsed on top of his bed, still fully clothed. Lewis stayed an extra moment to straighten Dick’s bedsheets, he knew an unmade bed was one of Dick’s pet peeves, before he exited the room and headed across the hall.

 

“Hey, Ron,” Lewis greeted his roommate when he entered the room and found Ron sitting at his desk. “What’s up?”

 

“Studying,” Ron answered before he glanced at his wrist watch. “I’m going to assume the only reason you’re up this early is because you’ve yet to go to sleep.”

 

“Surprisingly no, for once,” Nix retorted as he sat down on his bed. “I was sleeping in Dick’s room but then Harry kicked me out.”

 

“Understandable seeing as it’s not your room.”

 

“Still he didn’t have to be so pissy about it,” Lewis mumbled as he glanced down at his cell phone; Dick hadn’t texted him back yet. Lew knew that Dick didn’t have any exams this morning and he didn’t have to do any R.A. rounds until tonight. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Dick is right now, would you?”

 

“Don’t know where he went exactly but I saw him leave with a gym bag about half an hour, forty minutes ago,” Ron responded.

 

“Thanks, Ron,” Lewis said while he mentally narrowed down the number of places where Dick might have run off to with a gym bag.

 

Lewis grabbed a pair of semi-clean sweatpants from off of the floor and pulled them on before he shoved his feet into his tennis shoes and grabbed a hoodie from on top of his bed.

 

“Oh and Ron, I’ve been meaning to ask you but you wouldn’t happen to know why half of the floor is back to being scared shitless of you again?” Nixon asked as he shoved his wallet, cell phone, and keys into his pockets. “Because I thought you were done scaring children.”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ron said innocently with a shrug. “Maybe someone decided to start a new rumor about me.”

 

“Right,” Lewis said sarcastically. “And I’m this has _nothing_ to do with that fact that the number of people running to Lipton for help this week has been suspiciously low.”

 

“Don’t you have a boyfriend to go hunt down?” Ron reminded him.

 

“Whatever,” Lewis sighed before he pulled his hoodie on and walked to the door. “Just don’t _actually_ hurt anyone, Ron, Dick would have to deal with too much paper work if that happened.”

 

As Lewis walked down the five flights of stairs, he thought of what he should tell Dick whenever he found the guy. While he walked across the busy campus Nixon attempted to weigh the pros and cons of having Dick come back with him. Any time spent with Dick was always a good thing to Lewis and the fact that the time spent together next week would be one-on-one with no interruptions from their friends was definitely seen as a positive. On the other hand, Lewis still felt very wary about Dick meeting his mother. His mother was infinitely easier to deal with than his father and her recent change of heart made Lewis feel more hopeful about a positive outcome if Dick met her but Nixon knew that there was always the strong possibility of things going horribly wrong; he felt that anytime a person met a significant other’s parents there was always this possibility, no matter the parent.

 

_Nothing bad happened when you met Dick’s family_ , Lewis reminded himself.

 

“Dick’s family is normal though,” Nixon said to himself; again Lewis had to wonder how the hell someone as normal and sane and completely wonderful fell in love with a guy like him.

 

_He’s going to have to meet her eventually, right?_

 

Lewis paused.

 

This thing he had with Dick, Lewis knew that in the grand scheme of relationships it was still pretty new and he knew it was foolish to think so far in the future but he couldn’t help it. Lewis couldn’t picture a future without Dick, it just didn’t seem possible.

 

If their relationship was going to go long term, and damn did he hope it did, Dick would most definitely have to meet his mother at some point, so why not now?

 

_Do you honestly think your mother has the power to break you and Dick up?_ Lewis asked himself while he felt foolish for even daring to think along those lines. _You really are an idiot._

 

Ten minutes later Nixon walked through the slightly rusted metal gates that surrounded the running track on the other side of campus. He smiled when he saw a familiar red-haired form running around the track. Lewis walked over the nearby bench and sat down next to where Dick had placed his book back and water bottle; it was only a minute before Dick circled back around to him.

 

“Hey,” Dick greeted him with a smile as he slowed down and stopped in front of Lewis; Nix couldn’t help but ogle his boyfriend a little, since he was shirtless wearing only a pair of gym shorts. “This is a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect you out of bed for another two hours at least.”

 

“Yeah well, Harry kicked me out,” Lewis shrugged. “Thought I’d find you here.”

 

“And so you decided to join me for an early morning run?” Dick asked with a grin as he sat down next to Nixon on the bench.

 

“That’s hilarious,” Lewis said dryly before he moved onto the reason why he was there. “I was looking for you; had something I wanted to ask you.”

 

“Oh really?” Dick asked, calmly. “And it couldn’t wait?”

 

“I could have I just…” Nixon trailed off before he refocused on the question that was heavy on his tongue. “What are you doing for spring break?”

 

“I was planning on catching up on some reading but that’s about it,” Dick answered. “Why?”

 

“Well, my mom called and she asked if I wanted to come back to New Jersey for break; something about how she misses me or something.”

 

“What a crazy concept,” Dick teased.

 

“I know, right? Anyways, I told her that I’d go back home.”

 

“That sounds great, Lew,” Dick said with a smile before he took a drink from his water bottle.

 

“Yeah, well, she also asked if you would want to come back with me,” Lewis continued. “She wants to meet you.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. So, what do you say? It’s okay if you don’t want to meet her, she understands.”

 

“Well, what do you want me to do?” Dick asked, surprising Nixon. “I know you have issues with your family and if me coming back would make things more difficult I wouldn’t want-”

 

“I want you to come back with me,” Lewis said definitively. “I want you to meet my family, at least, select parts of it; I wouldn’t wish Stan on my worst enemies. So,” Lewis paused as he smiled warmly at Dick, “going my way?”

 

“Of course.”

 

* * *

  

When Lipton walked into Hanks House after his last midterm on Friday afternoon he found the building in a complete state of chaos and excitement. Some ran around trying to find a possession lost within the building that was desperately needed before they went home for a week, others yelled to others while the packed coolers full of drinks and foods before they headed down to the beach where Carwood knew there was going to be a huge party, others simply were loud because they finally had the ability to after a week of stressed silence. Different music blasted from all of the floors and created a cacophony of sound. Lipton was almost knocked down by a handful of guys from the third floor as he tried to climb up the stairs to the fifth floor and somewhere around the fourth floor a beach ball came out of nowhere and smacked him in the face.

 

“Babe, you idiot! You just nailed Lip in the face!” Bill yelled as he looked down at him from the floor above.

 

“Oh, jeez, I’m really sorry, Lip,” Babe apologized as he came running down the stairs with Spina, Bill, Gene, and Toye at his heals. “I didn’t think anyone was below us.”

 

“It’s okay, Babe,” Carwood assured him. “Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Good thing it was just a beach ball, Babe,” Ralph spoke up. “If it were anything heavier you probably would’ve injured the poor guy and then you’d have to deal with the wrath of Speirs.”

 

Carwood just smiled and shook his head while Babe noticeably paled at the thought before he continued on to the fifth floor, which he found in an unsurprising state of disarray.

 

“Skip, do you know where the speakers are?” Penkala shouted as he stuck his head out into the fifth floor hallway. “I’m headed down the beach now and I can’t find them!”

 

“I already gave them to Ray when he went down earlier!” Skip answered as he came jogging down the hallway, dressed in a ridiculous Hawaiian shirt and a large straw hat; he slowed to a halt next to Lipton. “Heya, Lip, are you coming down to the party?”

 

“In a little bit, Skip,” Carwood answered.

 

“Good because you’re not gonna wanna miss this,” Skip assured him.

 

“I promise I’ll be there,” he smiled before Skip slapped him on the back and ran toward his room.

 

Once Lipton managed to get to his room through all the chaos he found it empty; figured Jay was already down at the beach with the other guys who went to set it up. Sighing slightly, Lipton set his heavy book bag on the floor before he walked over to his bed and collapsed on top of it. He was definitely going to go down to the party later but right now, after such a long week, he just wanted a moment of peace and relaxation. He knew it would be impossible to fall asleep in this racket but he closed his eyes anyways and hoped for a moment’s rest.

 

“Carwood,” said a warm voice from the doorway. “Are you asleep?”

 

“Only the dead would be able to sleep in this,” Carwood answered before he propped himself up on his elbows and found Ron standing in the doorway; Lipton motioned for Ron to come in and join him on his bed, which he quickly complied.

 

“How are you feeling?” Ron asked as he turned on his side so that he could face Carwood.

 

“Fine. I’m just a little tired,” Lipton answered truthfully. “I could use a nap before this party thing but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

 

“Well at least you’re not sick from exhaustion like last semester,” Ron reminded him.

 

“Yeah,” Carwood said slowly while he raised himself up onto an elbow. “It’s really weird; almost none of the guys asked me for help this week.”

 

“Maybe they all remembered how they ran you into the ground last semester and they felt so bad that they decided not to do it again,” Ron suggested with a straight face as he rolled onto his back.

 

“That’s a possibility,” Lipton nodded. “Or perhaps they were afraid that if they asked me for help they would get blackmailed or thrown out of a window or whatever ridiculous rumor they believe about you.”

 

Carwood watched as Ron’s calm expression falter for a moment before it completely shattered. Ron stared up at him with a look similar to what he assumed a child would wear when caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

 

“Luz told me,” Lipton continued in his even tone. “I pretty much figured out what was going on and then I asked George about it yesterday and he confessed.”

 

“…I just didn’t want you to wear yourself out again,” Ron admitted quietly. “You’re just such a selfless person, Carwood. You’re always looking out for everybody and making sure everyone’s taken care of before you even _think_ to take care of yourself. I guess I just figured that someone should be looking out for you for once.” Ron let out a sigh before he continued in a tone more similar to his normal tone of voice. “I’m sorry that I interfered and convinced Luz to blackmail his friends. It was wrong and I shouldn’t have done it.”

 

“That’s right, you shouldn’t have,” Carwood agreed in a firm, almost scolding tone. “I know I have a tendency to overwork myself and I appreciate that you and George were just trying to help but there are other ways, Ron. A lot of the boys could have used my help this week and I’m sure some of their grades suffered from this. Also, blackmailing and threatening are generally frowned upon and I don’t think Dick would be happy if he found out what you did.”

 

“I’m sorry, Car,” Ron repeated, his voice returned to his previous level of unusual quiet. “I was just trying to help you and I guess I got carried away.”

 

“I think that’s a bit of an understatement, Ron.”

 

There was a long pause where neither spoke. Carwood stayed in his elevated position while Ron stayed still, lying flat on his back while he stared up at Lipton with his bright green eyes.

 

“Are you mad at me?” Ron asked after the silence had dragged on long enough.

 

Was he mad? Lipton remembered how when he first suspected what was going on he felt exasperated and how when he finally convinced George to tell him the truth he felt momentarily annoyed with the both of them. Sure, Carwood knew that even though Ron had good intentions what he did was wrong and he knew that if he wanted to be mad it would be justifiable but no matter how long he thought over everything he never felt angry or upset with Ron.

 

“No, I’m not mad at you, Ron,” Carwood answered.

 

“I’d understand if you were.”

 

“Well I’m not. I’m a little exasperated with the both of you but I’m definitely not mad,” Lipton insisted. “I just need you to promise me something.”

 

“Anything.”

 

“Promise me that next time you wanna help me, you’ll do it in a less-overbearing, non-threatening manner.”

 

“Of course, I promise,” Ron nodded. “Anything else?”

 

Lipton smiled down at his boyfriend as a thought came to him.

 

“I want you to promise me that you’ll go to this party with me for at least an hour and try to have some fun,” Lipton announced. “I know parties aren’t really your thing but I’d just really like it if once I got to hang out with my friends _and_ my boyfriend at the same time.”

 

“A completely reasonable request,” Ron complied before a soft, loving smile took over his face. “Anything to make you happy, Car.”

 

With the way Ron was looking up at him Carwood felt as if someone had sucked all of the air out of his lungs; in the back of his light headed mind Lip found that he really didn’t care if he felt like he couldn’t breathe as long as Ron was looking at him like that. Lipton leaned over Ron and kissed him, which gave him the same full-body buzzing sensation he had gotten the first time he kissed Ron and every kiss they shared in-between their first and this one.

 

_You don’t pick who you fall in love with._

 

_But damn am I glad it’s with Ron_ , Carwood thought as Luz’s words rang through his ears.

 

“I love you,” Carwood declared without preamble after he pulled away from Ron.

 

For a moment Ron stared up at him, his mind slow to process what Lip had declared; Carwood almost wished he could take a picture of the blank and slightly started expression it was so comical. Once the initial shock wore off of Ron he smiled again, the same way as before that melted Lipton’s heart and made it hard for him to breathe, the one that made him lose every ounce of selflessness in his body because God he didn’t want anyone else to get to see that smile.

 

“I love you, too.”

 

* * *

 

 

By the time the sun was setting the beach was filled with what appeared to be every student who remained on Pacific Coast campus. Between the blaring music, everyone singing and screaming and laughing, and the occasional explosion from a string of firecrackers or a firework, it was impossible to find a quiet place on the stretch of beach. Bonfires glowed and grills sizzled on the outer edges of the party while impromptu games of beach volleyball and Frisbee sprung up all over.  A few brave souls attempted to run into the still icy water; their shouts and screams could occasionally be heard over the din of the party.

 

“Hey, Lip, good to see you!” George exclaimed as he spotted his friend standing with Speirs, Harry, and Kitty. “Ron, surprised to see you around here.”

 

“Hey, George,” Lip greeted him.

 

“Luz,” Ron said with a nod of his head.

 

“So, we’re like, cool with the whole, blackmailing thing, right?” George asked quietly as he glanced between Ron and Carwood. “You understand we were just doing it to help-”

 

“I know, George, and we talked about it already,” Carwood smiled as he glanced at Ron out of the corner of his eye. “Just promise me that you won’t blackmail people in the future okay?”

 

“You got it, buddy. No more blackmailing.”

 

“What about blackmailing?” Kitty asked as she turned to look at the trio.

 

“Kitty, it’s best not to ask questions,” Harry warned her as he sipped his beer. “If the police get involved it’s best if you know as little as possible.”

 

“Well, you kids have fun,” Luz said as he took a step back. “Person owes me a round of beer pong.”

 

As George moved through the party, saw everyone laughing and dancing and having a chance to shed every last ounce of stress away from their bodies, he doubted anyone could feel bad when surrounded by this much fun and happiness. Unfortunately this was one instance where he was wrong because at least one person at the beach was fucking miserable inside.

 

“Don’t you think you oughta slow down on, Eugene?” Sidney asked as he watched his best friend take a long drink from his red plastic cup.

 

“It’s a party, Sid, you’re supposed to drink,” Eugene countered in a slightly slurring voice.

 

“Yeah well maybe you could drink a little slower or pace it out some,” Sid said slowly as he watched Eugene take another drink from his cup.

 

“I’m fine,” Eugene exclaimed. “There are people here who are more fucked up than me. What are you worried about?”

 

“I’m worried what will happen to _me_ if something happens to you because I let you get blind stinking drunk,” Sidney said seriously.

 

“ _Relax_ , Sid. My mom’s not gonna find out about this. I’m fine. You’re fine,” Eugene persisted before he tipped his cup back and drained it. “I’m gonna get another drink.”

 

“No you’re-”

 

“ _Sidney_ Phillips!”

 

Eugene watched as Sidney turned around and found a very pretty girl with brown hair from the second floor. Eugene knew that her name was Mary and Sidney had taken her on a couple of dates recently.

 

“Come dance with me!” Mary ordered with a smile as he grabbed Sidney’s unoccupied hand.

 

Sidney barely put up a fight as Mary dragged him off into the mob of people. Eugene turned and headed for the nearest cooler, in search of another drink. Sidney, Eugene felt, really was overreacting. So what if he was drinking a lot tonight? Half the people at the party appeared to be drinking as if it were the last night on earth. Eugene rarely drank and frankly after the shitty week he had had he felt like he deserved a couple drinks.

 

Merriell still refused to talk to him. After Eugene had broken his rule and sent the first text he had tried a few more times and received similar results. After his talk with Babe, Eugene had half expected something to happen; Eugene felt like Babe wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut and would most likely tell Roe everything in an attempt to get Roe to kick Merriell’s ass. However, nothing changed between them; either Roe didn’t properly convince Shelton to talk to him or Babe actually managed to do as he promised.

 

_Fuck him_ , Eugene though angrily as he chugged his cheap beer without tasting it. _He thinks he can just avoid me forever? Act like I don’t exist? Fuck him._

 

Eugene expected more from Shelton. He expected him to confront Eugene if there was something wrong, get pissed and let Eugene know about it. He never would have expected Shelton to act like such a coward, choosing to run and hide and avoid his own dorm room so that Eugene wouldn’t be able to find him. It was ridiculous.

 

Shelton couldn’t hide forever. As Eugene finished yet another drink he resolved himself to end this bullshit by the end of the night. He would find Merriell and let him know just how much of an asshole Eugene thought he was.

 

“Hey, Eugene!” a familiar voice yelled from somewhere behind Eugene.

 

“ _Baaabe!”_ Eugene exclaimed once his alcohol-infused mind managed to connect the voice to the face. “ _What’s up?!”_

 

“Oh my god, Eugene, you’re _trashed_ ,” Babe realized as he stared at his very obviously inebriated friend; he couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

 

“Fuckin’ right I am, Babe,” Eugene yelled into Babe’s ear, even though it wasn’t very loud where they stood. “Hey have you see Mer anywhere?”

 

“Who?” Babe asked as he focused on keeping Eugene upright; he had suddenly began tipping precariously to one side and even though it would have been hilarious to watch Eugene face-plant into the sand Babe felt he should at least try to stop it from happening.

 

“Merriell! Shelton! Snafu _big baby_ Shelton!” Eugene clarified. “He won’t talk to me so I gotta go find ‘im!”

 

“He still hasn’t talked to you?” Babe asked; Gene told him that he had talked to Shelton two nights ago. Babe assumed that Shelton would have talked to Eugene by now.

 

“Nope! He won’t talk to me so I gotta go find him and tell him he’s an asshole! Have you seen him?”

 

“I haven’t, Eugene,” Babe answered before he tried to guide Eugene away from the party and off to the side. “Come on. You need to sit down for a bit and drink some water.”

 

“’m fine, Babe!” Eugene yelled as he tried to break out of Babe’s grip. “What are you doing?”

 

“Trying to stop you from making a complete ass out of yourself,” Babe answered with a tired sigh.

 

“’m not making an ass out of myself-”

 

“Do you see yourself right now?”

 

“ _What?_ Babe I don’t have a mirror-”

 

“Jesus Christ. Who let this kid drink?”

 

Babe snagged a water bottle from one of the coolers before he tightened his grip on his friend and continued leading him to the edge of the beach where he could sit down and sober up for a few minutes. Babe couldn’t help but think about all the times Bill had to babysit him when he got too drunk and he figured that this was his payback.

 

“Okay, just sit and drink your water, Sledge,” Babe said once they reached the edge of the beach and sat down in the cool sand.

 

“I gotta find Mer,” Eugene continued, determined.

 

“And I’ll help you find that rat bastard _after_ you’ve drank you water, okay?”

 

After another moment of coaxing Eugene started to slowly drink water and stopped fighting Babe to stay down. Babe knew that they had to put this mess with Shelton to rest; he was fucking sick of seeing Eugene so miserable because of him. He pulled out his cell phone with the intention of calling Gene for help hunting down Shelton but found that his pants pockets were cell phone-less.

 

“Shit,” Babe swore as he remembered letting Spina use his phone as a flashlight earlier. “Hey, Sledge, can I borrow your phone real quick?”

 

“Why?” Eugene slurred.

 

“I’m gonna call Gene for help. He’s got that crazy ability to sniff out Snafu no matter where he is.”

 

“Gene’s not gonna make it any better,” Eugene mumbled while he struggled to pull his cell phone out of his pocket. “I know you told ‘im about Mer and it didn’t work before and it’s not gonna work this time.”

 

“It’s worth a shot,” Babe persisted before he dialed Gene’s number; after a couple of rings he picked up. “Gene, it’s Babe, I’m using Sledge’s phone.”

 

Babe struggled to hear Gene over the noise of the party and the bad phone reception.

 

“Hold on,” Babe told Gene before he glanced at Eugene, who didn’t seem to be moving anytime soon now that he was flat on his back and staring up into the night sky. “Eugene,” Babe said as he gave Eugene’s shoulder a quick shake. “I’m gonna be right back okay? Just stay put.”

 

Eugene watched as Babe ran off to a more secluded corner of the beach. He couldn’t remember why Babe was leaving him or why he was lying on the ground in the first place or why everything seemed to be spinning around him. It was comfortable, lying on the sand, and Eugene was about to close his eyes and settle in for the night when suddenly he remembered why exactly he had drank himself into near-belligerence.

  

With uncooperative limbs and spinning vision, Eugene managed to push himself up onto unsteady feet before he headed off into the night in search of Merriell Shelton.

 

* * *

  

Merriell was sure that this was the quietest Hanks House had ever been; every single person was either down at the beach or had gone home. He was all alone.

 

He couldn’t remember the last time he was able to just lay back in his own bed and relax. To be honest he was very rarely in his dorm room anymore; he tended to slip into the room late and got out early before most of the floor had woken up. Nowadays he either crashed in his friend Burgie’s room on the fourth floor or camped out on one of the couches in the twenty-four hour library; there were always at least one of two stressed out students who slept on the couches, no one ever bothered him when he stayed. Merriell wondered if he could just cut out the cost of housing and just stay in the library next year.

 

Shelton knew he was being a coward; he didn’t need Gene or Burgie to tell him. Merriell would have like to think that he was braver than this but if he really thought about it had he ever done anything except run and hide? He spent years running away from his piece of shit father and never found the courage to turn him in and he hid at the free clinic instead of facing his father; he had always been a coward.

 

Merriell got off of his bed, headed over to the window, and pushed it open before he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. With the window open he could hear the all of the noises that came with the party, the music, the shouts, the occasional explosion that came with one of Person’s fireworks. A part of him wished he was down at the beach with everyone, reveling in temporary end of school work and exams, but he knew that it probably wouldn’t be a wise move; adding copious amounts of alcohol to his current state of mind would only end up making his situation worse.

 

_“Merriell!”_ a loud, obviously drunken voice yelled from the hallway. _“I know you’re here!”_

 

Before Merriell could so much as jump off of the window sill his dorm room door burst open, revealing what appeared to be a highly intoxicated Eugene Sledge. Even though his temporary shock Shelton had to admit that the sight was rather comical; he didn’t think he had ever seen Eugene sip so much as a beer before.

 

“Mer,” Eugene slurred as he leaned against the doorjamb for support.

 

“Eugene,” Merriell responded quietly while he finished his cigarette. “You here to yell at me?”

 

“Hell yeah I am,” Eugene declared as he took an unsteady step into the room; he attempted to take another step but almost collapsed and braced himself on the edge of one of the beds.

 

“Word of advice, Sledgehammer,” Shelton said as he went about lighting another cigarette. “If you feel like you’re gonna hurl, aim for Joe’s side-”

 

“Oh my god, will you fucking shut up?” Eugene suddenly exclaimed. “Enough with your quips and one-liners, I’m trying to yell at you.”

 

“Proceed,” Shelton said as he raised his hand slightly, almost in a sign of surrender.

 

“I’ve very angry with you,” Eugene began, his voice slightly too loud for the almost dead silence of the dorm. “Why-why would you do somethin’ like that, huh? How could-I thought-”

 

“Use your words, Eugene.”

 

“Man, fuck you! Just shut up, Shelton!”

 

“You know what I don’t think I will,” Shelton decided as he leaned back against the wall. “It’s my room, I didn’t invite you in here, I’m gonna fucking talk if I want to.”

 

“Well I’m gonna keep talking because you’re an asshole and you deserve to get yelled at!”

 

“I ain’t gonna argue with you there,” Merriell murmured; he couldn’t deny the fact that he definitely deserved a good cussing out.

 

“Good!” Eugene shouted before he took a couple more wobbling steps forward. “Why the fuck did you do it?”

 

“You’re gonna have to be a little bit more specific.”

 

“Why the fuck did you stop talking to me?” Eugene yelled as he moved even closer to Merriell. “We were fucking friends and you just cut me out of your life? How could you do that? How could you think that was an okay thing to do?”

 

“Never said I thought it was an okay thing. Sometimes certain things just have to be done-”

 

“Like what ditching your friend with no explanation? That _had_ to be done? You couldn’t fucking look me in the face and tell me you didn’t want to be friends with me anymore?”

 

“That’s not fucking why I did it,” Merriell snapped. “I still wanted to be fucking friends with you, Eugene, I just couldn’t anymore.”

 

“Oh yeah? Why the fuck couldn’t you?” Eugene yelled as he stepped even closer to Shelton.

 

Shelton fell momentarily quiet.

 

_I have a fucking crush on you_ , Shelton thought.

 

He wanted to say it. He wanted to shout it at Eugene’s red face until his voice went horse. He wanted Eugene to know but something was stopping the words from coming out of his mouth. He really was a wimp.

 

“I think I know why,” Eugene said quietly, his voice still sounded angry but there was hurt too now.

 

“Do you?” Shelton asked while he felt his heart skip a beat; did Eugene already know?

 

“Yeah,” Eugene responded in a louder voice as he moved ever closer to him. “You realized that I liked you and you freaked out and-!”

 

“ _What the fuck_?” Shelton exclaimed. “You _like_ me?”

 

“Yeah but I wish I didn’t because you’re an asshole whose been making me feel like shit lately,” Eugene yelled before his face suddenly twisted in confusion. “Wait- you didn’t know that I liked you?”

 

“ _No_ ,” Merriell responded while he tried to work out what the fuck had just happened; did Eugene actually like him or was this just some side effect from being black out drunk? He probably didn’t know what he was saying.

 

“So then why the fuck did you stop talking to me if you weren’t freaked out about me liking you?”

 

“I- it doesn’t matter-”

 

“The hell it does!”

 

“It’s fucking complicated-”

 

“Well then explain it to me! I’m all fucking ears!” Eugene said before he reached out and gave Merriell a small push. “Come on. I just told you I fucking liked you and you won’t even man up and tell me why you couldn’t talk to me? That’s some bullshit.”

 

_He’s right._

 

“I-”

 

“What?” Eugene continued with another shove.

 

“Fuck off, Sledge,” Merriell snapped as he shoved Eugene back.

 

“What the fuck would happen that made you stop talking to me?” Eugene asked as he moved back right into Merriell’s personal space. “Are you not even gonna fucking tell me?”

_You’ve already lost him,_ Merriell realized as he stared into Eugene’s angry eyes, the same ones that usually held such warmth and happiness when he looked at him. _What have you got to lose?_

 

“Eugene, I-”

 

_Ring… ring…_

 

“Fuck,” Merriell sighed as he felt all of the steam he had been building leave him. With fumbling fingers he reached for his cell phone and picked it up without looking at the caller I.D.

 

“What the fuck, Shelton,” Eugene growled tiredly but Merriell ignored him for a moment.

 

“Hello?” he answered; in the back of his mind he had to wonder who the fuck was calling him now.

 

_“Hello, sorry about the late hour but is this Merriell Shelton?”_ asked an unfamiliar female voice.

 

“Yes. And who is this?”

 

“ _I’m a nurse at Interim LSU Hospital,”_ she said. “ _Am I correct in saying that Francis Shelton is your father?”_

 

“Biologically speaking, yes,” Merriell answered while he felt more and more confused by the second. “What’s this about?”

 

_“I’m sorry to tell you but you father was in an accident today and he’s currently in critical condition.”_

 

“How critical?” he asked.

 

_“He’s in a coma, sir and I’m sorry but his condition doesn’t seem to be getting any better. I would strongly suggest you visit soon while there’s still time left.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aren't cliffhangers fun :) hopefully I can update before the end of summer (no promises I'm taking summer classes and working)
> 
> thanks for reading, feel free to leave a kudos or yell at me in the comments


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for spring break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa, a relatively on-time update? what is this? Also this chapter is long as fuck, idk how this happened.
> 
> But i'm really excited for this chapter because there are portions of this chapter that I originally wrote literally two years ago when i first started writing this fic, so I hope you all enjoy~

* * *

Nixon slept for the entire plane ride back home but the second he and Dick got into the taxi that would take them from the airport to his house he felt his apprehension resurge. Dick, being as observant as ever, noticed Lew’s uneasiness and reached across the backseat of the taxi, gripped Lewis’ hand, and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

 

“I’ll be fine,” Lewis said quietly as the taxi exited the crowded airport parking lot.

 

Thirty minutes later the taxi passed through the metal gate that surrounded the Nixon family property. Nixon watched out of the corner of his eye as Dick got his first glimpse of the impressive family home that had been a part of the Nixon family for generations. It was nighttime now, making the house and the grandeur of the land it sat on hard to properly see, but lit up for the night Lewis knew it still was an impressive sight. Dick didn’t gape or say anything; the only outward reaction was the subtle rise of his eyebrows.

 

Lewis paid the driver while Dick unloaded their bags from the trunk. Before Dick managed to get all of their items unloaded, the front door opened, revealing Lewis’ mother, still dressed in her daytime clothing despite the late hour.

 

“Lewis!” his mother exclaimed before she walked down the front steps. “I’m glad you got here before it got too late.”

 

“Hey, mom,” Lewis greeted her before she pulled him into a tight hug.

 

Lewis’ mom let go before she turned to face Dick, who now stood next to Nixon with their luggage at his feet. Nixon watched as his mother smiled warmly at Dick and after a small pause, she surprisingly pulled him into a slightly awkward hug; his mother hadn’t always been the warmest of people but he figured this was just another part of her attempting to change.

 

“And you must be Richard,” she said with a smile after the hug. “It’s so good to finally meet you.”

 

“Likewise, Ma’am,” Dick responded, always to image of politeness.

 

“Oh, please, call me Sarah. Now let’s get inside, it’s too chilly out tonight to talk out here.”

 

Lewis and Dick picked up their luggage and followed after his mother into the house. Nixon watched nervously out of the corner of his eye as Dick got his first look of the inside of the house; just like before his outward response was almost nonexistent.

 

“Are you boys hungry? I know it’s late but I thought maybe we could have a bite to eat before going to bed.”

 

“Yeah, that sounds good, Mom,” Nix agreed as he turned to look at Dick, who nodded in agreement.

 

“Well, take Richard up to your room and unpack while I get the food out,” she said before she turned and walked towards the kitchen.

 

“Come on,” Lewis before he picked up his bags and started towards the stairs.

 

“Your mother doesn’t mind us sleeping together in your room?” Dick asked as he followed after Lew.

 

“Nope,” he responded before he smirked at Dick over his shoulder. “Do you mind? I’d be happy to set up one of the numerous guest rooms-”

 

“Lew, just keep moving,” Dick sighed as he gave his boyfriend a firm shove to the middle of his back, “I’m tired and I’d like to put this luggage down somewhere. I’m sure your room is a lot better than cramming on one of the dorm beds.”

 

“There’s also no Harry to deal with,” he reminded him as they continued climbing the stairs up to the third floor. “My parent’s- well, I guess it’s just my mom’s room now- is on the second floor. I’m pretty much the only person who comes up here.”

 

“I’m guessing that was done mostly to keep you and your father away from each other?”

 

“Now where would you ever get that kind of idea?” Nix asked sarcastically before he opened the last door at the end of the hall and kicked it open.

 

After the two dropped off their belongings in Nix’s room and unpacked a little, Lewis gave Dick a quick tour around the house; there wasn’t much to see on the third or second floors where everything was a bedroom, an office, or a bathroom but on the main floor he was able to show Dick the library, the living room, the den area, and the recreation room which held a pool table, a few dart boards, a poker table and an impressive television with surround sound.

 

“We’ll have to play a round later,” Dick said as he inspected the pool table. “It’d be nice to play on something better than the scratched up one in Hanks House.”

 

“We can after dinner if you want,” Lewis suggested. “Or any other time we’re here for the week.”

 

“Definitely.”

 

“I’d show you the backyard but it’s a little dark out.”

 

“You can show me in the morning. Or more likely, the afternoon, since I doubt you’ll get out of bed before noon,” Dick teased with a small grin.

 

“Okay fine, take your shots,” Lewis sighed as he leaned against the pool table. “We’re on vacation time so you definitely can’t guilt me into feeling bad for sleeping in.”

 

“Well at least I’ll be able to catch up on my reading while I wait for you to wake up.”

 

“Dick, did you honestly bring along your school work?” Lewis asked in disbelief. “You’re on vacation.”

 

“Yeah but that doesn’t make deadlines professors set disappear,” Dick reminded him. “I’m still expected to do my weekly reading regardless if we have class or not.”

 

“You know that’ just not fair, making kids work when they’re on break. It’s criminal, taking away time that should be spent doing other activities.”

 

“And what other activities did you have in mind?”

 

“Oh, I have a couple ideas,” Lewis smirked. “But they’re surprises so you’re just going to have to wait to find out.”

 

“Should I be afraid?”

 

“I don’t think so,” Nixon shrugged. “But we do have a bit of a difference in opinions from time to time so don’t quote me on that.”

 

“Are you boys ready to eat?” Lewis’ mother asked as she appeared in the doorway.

 

“I’m starving,” Lewis declared.

 

“Well there’s plenty to eat.”

 

Dinner went well. Dick got along with his mother swimmingly and made pleasant conversation with her while Lewis focused more on eating instead of whatever it was that his mother and Dick were talking about.

 

“Lewis,” she called out, getting Nix’s attention. “Why haven’t you brought someone like Richard home before? He’s a hundred times better than any of your high school relationships.”

 

“Well, mom,” Lewis said slowly while he smirked at Dick, whose face was now as red as his hair, “I haven’t brought anyone home like Dick before because I’m pretty sure he is one of a kind.”

 

“Lew,” Dick murmured with his face now looking like a tomato.

 

“I guess Lewis _occasionally_ knows the right thing to say,” his mother smirked, causing Nixon to roll his eyes.

 

After dinner, Lewis’ mother went to bed and the two of them decided to go out on the back porch so that Nix could have a quick smoke before they went to bed; they were both worn out from the flight and ready for bed.

 

“My mom seems to love you,” Nix stated as he lit himself a cigarette.

 

“I’m glad,” Dick responded. “I like her too. She seems nice.”

 

“She’s always been decent,” Nix responded. “I can already tell she’s much better off without Stan bringing her down. In fact, this place is pretty nice without him here.”

 

They were quiet for a moment as they stood side by side, leaning against the railing as they stared up at the stars. It was a beautiful night.

 

“So your mom thinks that I’m the best person you’ve ever brought home,” Dick brought up casually, earning a grin from Nix. “How many people am I competing against, exactly?”

 

“Not as many as she makes it seem,” Nixon clarified. “Out of all my ‘high school relationships’ there were like two people I actually dated and then that one guy who my mom walked in on me making out with that one time.”

 

“So she really doesn’t mind the whole bisexual thing?” Dick asked.

 

“Not in the least,” Nixon said. “To be honest I think she prefers when I’m dating a guy.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because then there’s no way anyone’s gonna end up pregnant,” he answered frankly.

 

“Has that been a concern before?” Dick asked slowly.

 

“Well, sort of,” Lewis admitted uneasily, which earned him a questioning look from Dick. “Okay so my senior year of high school my girlfriend Kathy had a pregnancy scare and it turned out to be nothing but I guess her parents found out and then they called my parents and it was just madness for like a solid month afterwards. That’s all the happened and that was the only time it happened, I swear.”

 

“You promise you’re not hiding any kids anywhere?” Dick asked after a pause.

 

“Not to my knowledge,” Lew answered; Dick gave him a playful shove in response.

 

“Good to know.”

 

Lew was tired and he knew Dick was too but he wasn’t quite ready to head back inside yet; it was too peaceful and relaxing out there on the porch with the clear night sky above them.

 

“Can you imagine what’s going on back at school right now?” Lewis smirked as he leaned against the railing.

 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Dick said innocently.

 

“Right, because you totally don’t know about the colossal party some of the guys were planning.”

 

“It’s easier if I just play ignorant sometimes,” Dick said slowly, causing Lewis to laugh.

 

“Oh, man, there might not even be a campus left when we get back.”

 

“I think you’re being overdramatic, Lew.”

 

“I don’t know. I saw some of the stuff the guys were planning. There might not be a campus when we get back. Or Hanks House might have a couple of vacancies while some of the guys rot in the local jail.”

 

“Whatever is going on right now, I’m not going to worry about it,” Dick announced. “As you pointed out, I’m on vacation. I’m not supposed to worry about them right now.”

 

“That’s what I like to hear.”

 

* * *

 

“Oh, holy shit,” George groaned.

 

He didn’t know where he was or what time it was, couldn’t remember a lot of what happened the night before, all he knew was that he had never been more hungover than he was right then. Luz covered his eyes with his hand; the bright rays of sunlight felt like knives to his poor, oversensitive eyes. He took in the smell of fresh, slightly salty air, felt the grainy substance that he laid on top of, and listened to the soft sounds of nature and knew for sure that he was not in his dorm. After another moment Luz forced himself to crack open one of his eyes and took in his surroundings.

 

George was passed out on the middle of the beach with the bright morning sun shining down on him. Once his eyes adjusted more to the offensive light he was able to look around and take in the devastation.

 

He wasn’t the only one who was passed out on the beach. Ray was passed out a foot or two away from him, curled up on his side with his ridiculous sunglasses blocking the powerful rays of sunlight. Luz thought he could make out Skinny and Walt lying nearby; it was hard to tell through his hangover haze. There were a couple of other people passed out that he couldn’t recognize; he figured a few of them had to belong to one of the other dorms.

 

Besides the bodies the beach was covered in the remnants of the party from the night before. Abandoned coolers and a beach ball sat around the outer edges, the dark marks of burned out bonfires pockmarked the sandy beach, and numerous discarded cans and cups littered the area.

 

 _Somebodies gonna have to clean this up_ , Luz thought to himself as he rubbed his hands over his tired eyes.

 

Luz extended his arm, grabbed onto Ray’s skinny ankle, and gave it a firm shake.

 

“Yo, Ray. Are you alive?”

 

“Fuck no, man,” Ray groaned after a moment of Luz shaking him. “Leave me here to die.”

 

“Dude we gotta get up,” Luz persisted as he forced himself up onto his elbows. “We can’t stay passed out on the beach forever. We gotta get up.”

 

“Who says we can’t?”

 

“The cops I’m sure. Miracle we haven’t been harassed by them yet,” Luz continued. “Come on. We gotta clean some of this shit up and then we can pass out for a day or two. We did the crime we gotta do the time.”

 

There was pause before Ray let out a loud, overdramatic groan and he pushed himself into a sitting position. Ray rolled his shoulders, wincing as he did, before he pushed his sunglasses onto the top of his head and squinted at George.

 

“Dude, there is sand so far up my crack,” Ray declared groggily.

 

“I am not helping you with that,” Luz said flatly before he forced himself to stand up slowly and felt proud when he managed not to throw up. “Man I don’t think I’ve ever been this hungover.”

 

“Proof that last night was a success,” Ray said before he picked up an empty cup that was lying nearby and tossed it at Skinny and Walt’s unconscious forms. “Yo! Wonder twins! Time to rise and shine, motherfuckers.”

 

“Oh, fuck,” Skinny groaned as he rolled onto his back and threw an arm over his eyes. “I am never, ever drinking again.”

 

“If I had a dollar for every time I heard you said that,” Walt spoke up, his eyes still shut firmly against the morning sun. “Fuck I’m gonna puke.”

 

“If you puke on me, friendship is over,” Skinny groaned.

 

“Man you’ve puked on me like three times already. You owe me.”

 

“Walt, just hurry up and puke already so that we can get started on this clean up,” Luz commanded tiredly. “The sooner we clean this up the sooner we can go back to pretending we’re dead.”

 

“Man can’t we leave it for them?” Skinny asked as he motioned his arm toward the other clump of people who were passed out a few yards away from them. “Last one awake is stuck with the clean-up.”

 

“We’re not that much of shitheads to do that to those poor guys,” Luz said as he pulled a crumpled pack of cigarettes out of his pants pocket and lit a cigarette. “Up and at ‘em. We can at least clean up part of the beach.”

 

“Fuckin’ fine,” Ray groaned as he pushed himself onto his feet. “Damn, we fucked up this place.”

 

“I feel like I’ve been run over by a freight train,” Walt announced. “What the fuck even happened last night?”

 

“We had a great fucking time, that’s what happened,” Ray answered.

 

“Hey, are those guys even alive?” Skinny asked as he motioned down the beach towards the other unconscious figures.

 

“I so don’t have the energy to care about that right now,” Luz muttered with his cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth. “Let’s just hurry about before the cops come by and throw our asses in lockup.”

 

“Got a point, Luz,” Ray agreed. “Walt’s too pretty to go to jail.”

 

The four of them managed to clean up part of the beach before another group of partygoers woke up, at which point they passed the trash bags off to them and departed the beach. After a little discussion the four of them decided to stop by the food hall before they headed back to Hanks House.

 

“So they are alive,” called a familiar voice as they entered the food hall.

 

Sitting at a table was Skip, Malarkey, and Penkala, all of them looking a little worse off than normal but all were still in one piece.

 

“Did you guys make it back to Hanks House?” Ray asked as they sat down at their table.

 

“Of course we did. Wait, did you guys not make it back?” Skip asked slowly.

 

“Well seeing as I woke up on the beach I’m gonna say no,” Luz answered. “To be honest I don’t remember anything past three.”

 

“Things are a bit blurry but I remember when I left around four you guys were still out there drinking,” Malarkey responded.

 

“Everything’s a haze after three but I remember trying to drag your asses back sometime around sunup and you guys wouldn’t leave,” Alex said.

 

“How did the beach look?” Skip asked through a mouthful of waffles.

 

“Like a bomb went off,” Walt answered.

 

“Did you leave it like that?”

 

“We cleaned it up a little,” Luz answered. “We left just as another group was reentering the world of the conscious but it was better than nothing.”

 

“It’ll get cleaned up by someone,” Ray reasoned before he got up from his seat. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go drown this hangover in some pancakes and a shit ton of syrup.”

 

Thankfully the food hall served brunch until three in the afternoon on Saturdays so the group was able to get their fill of food to absorb all the alcohol in their systems. After an hour or two of relaxing while attempting to piece together the events from the previous night, the six of them walked back to Hanks House together.

 

The fifth floor was quieter than normal when they reached it but televisions played at a softer volume could still be heard along with some light conversation. Everyone was either recovering or quietly enjoying their first day of spring break. Luz knew that only a couple guys went home for the week but even with just a few people missing things felt different on the fifth floor.

 

“Where the hell you been?” Frank asked him as he walked into their shared dorm room. “Did you even make it back here last night?”

 

“Nope. Woke up on the beach, Frank,” Luz answered as he walked over to his closet and began digging for his toiletry bag; he need a shower in the worst way.

 

“Are you serious?”

 

“Frank, I look like I just rolled around in a fucking sandbox does it look like I’m kidding?”

 

“No but now you’re tracking sand all into the room,” he complained.

 

“I’ll clean it up later, okay? Don’t get your panties in a twist. Right now I gotta shower and then sleep off the rest of this hangover from hell.”

 

“I don’t know how you’re upright, Luz. After all the shit you put into your body last night?”

 

“I am a real trooper,” George said proudly. “And I’m not the only guy who went a little crazy last night.”

 

“You’re telling me. I saw Sledge drunk off his ass last night; it was kinda funny to watch.”

 

“Sledge got drunk?” George asked as he pulled off his dirty t-shirt and tossed it into his overflowing dirty clothes hamper. “Damn, I wish I remembered that.”

 

“I haven’t seen him up and about yet; maybe someone should go check up on him and make sure he’s still alive. I doubt that kid is as used to hangovers as you are.”

 

“Hopefully the poor kid isn’t still on the beach,” Luz muttered before he grabbed his towel and toiletry bag. “Poor ginger kid is probably fried by now.”

 

After Luz took a long, warm shower and knocked back a fistful of Advil he wandered down to room 506 and knocked. There was no response and after a moment of waiting he tested the doorknob and found it unlocked. Inside he found both beds empty and neither beds looked slept in. It worried George slightly but with his hangover still trying to kill him, he found that he didn’t have a lot of energy to spare worrying about Eugene.

 

Right now he needed a bed and a couple hours of sleep; if Eugene was still missing when he woke up he’d worry about it then.

 

* * *

 

Eugene looked up at the arrivals board and glared at the ‘delayed’ sign that glowed next to their flight number.

 

“Christ,” Eugene hissed under his breath as he readjusted himself in the uncomfortable plastic airport seat.

 

He checked his watch; it was just after noon now. Their flight was originally scheduled to leave at eleven but because of a series of delays, they were still grounded. Eugene heaved a heavy sigh as he rubbed at his throbbing temples; he was definitely feeling the effects of all the cheap alcohol he had consumed now. Eugene turned his head and stared at the person who was stretched out across three plastic seats, seemingly dead asleep. The moment after they arrived in the terminal, Shelton had collapsed on top of the empty seats and fallen asleep; Eugene couldn’t help but be a little jealous. He had gotten a couple hours of sleep before they left for the airport but it hadn’t been anything really substantial, definitely not enough to fight off a hangover.

 

Pieces of the night before were still a little hazy for him but he remembered enough to feel embarrassed about his drunken display. He remembered falling all over the beach while Babe tried to help him before everything turned into a blur and then suddenly he was drunkenly screaming at Shelton about how he had a crush on him. Eugene was pretty sure if he had to compile a top-ten list of his most embarrassing moments, last night would take up the top three spots.

 

Before Shelton had gotten a chance to even hang up his phone, Gene and Babe burst into the room, both just a few minutes too late from saving Eugene from that embarrassing debacle. The specifics of what happened next were a little foggy for Eugene. Roe had started talking to Shelton and that lead to the two of them having a screaming match while Eugene and Babe stood off to the sidelines. If Eugene remembered anything clearly from the night before it was that he should never piss of Eugene Roe; the man was terrifying when he got mad.

 

Eventually Gene managed to work what the phone call had been about out of Shelton. Apparently Shelton’s father had gotten blind-stinking drunk, gone for a drive, and wrapped his car around a telephone pole. By some miracle he hadn’t died then and there but it seemed like it was only a matter of time before his father left this world.

 

Shelton didn’t want to go back to Louisiana to say goodbye to his father. Eugene remembered him shouting about how he should call the hospital back and have someone put a pillow over his face to speed up the whole process. Eugene knew that Shelton tended to operate on the darker side of things but even for him that seemed a little much; Eugene chalked it up to how he dealt with the shock of the news.

 

There had been more arguing, the details were, again, foggy. Roe fought to convince Shelton to go back to Louisiana while Shelton had been adamant against it.

 

_“Why the fuck should I go? That man hasn’t done shit to me for my entire life,” Shelton yelled. “It’s not like that hospital is a trip down the road neither! I’m not gonna shell out hundreds of dollars for a plane ticket just so I can watch him croak.! Fuck that.”_

_“You’re gonna have to go back anyways, Merriell. You’re gonna need to deal with paperwork from the hospital and what’s gonna happen to your dad’s place? You gotta go and figure this shit out.”_

_“I’m gonna be back in the state in a month or so, why can’t I just do it then? And I don’t give a shit what happened to that hell hole; have someone burn it to the ground for all I care,” Merriell snapped. “I shouldn’t have to deal with this bullshit and I’m definitely not wasting my time and money on that piece of shit. If some asshole wants to hound me to sign some fucking paperwork they can find me.”_

_“I’ll pay for the ticket,” Eugene spoke up._

_“What?”_

_“The thing you seem to be the most opposed to is the money. I’ll pay for it,” Eugene said, his voice slurring only slightly now. “Ya gotta go, Mer.”_

_“I’m not gonna take your fucking money, Sledge,” Shelton growled. “I don’t need your charity, I don’t want it. I ain’t going. Now will everyone get the fuck out of my room so I can get some damn sleep?”_

 

Roe wouldn’t be easily dissuaded. Eugene wasn’t quite sure how much longer the arguing continued but eventually Shelton conceded to Roe and his demands, such was the power of Eugene Roe. Shelton begrudgingly agreed to Eugene’s offer of money for a plane ticket and after some consideration it was decided that Eugene would accompany him; someone needed to go along with Shelton to make sure he actually did what he set out to do.

 

Roe and Babe booked them the tickets while Eugene and Shelton attempted to get a couple hours of sleep; the few hours of sleep helped to sober up Eugene some but honestly he was sure he was at least a little bit drunk. Shelton hadn’t said a word to Eugene ever since they left Hanks House. The cab ride to the airport had been painfully silent and once they entered the airport terminal Shelton had collapsed on the benches without another word.

 

Eugene checked his watch again and found that only a couple of minutes had passed. The longer this took the more Eugene was sure Shelton would find a way to escape, which is why Eugene refused to leave his seat next to Shelton for anything so that he couldn’t sneak away. He knew the clock was against them with Shelton’s dad’s condition worsening by the minute; they couldn’t deal with any more delays. Despite what Shelton said, Eugene felt like deep inside, Shelton wanted a chance to say goodbye. Hopefully their flight would stop getting delayed and they get a chance to make that wish a reality.

 

* * *

 

“Rise and shine, Web! You’re sleeping the day away.”

 

David let out a long, low groan as he felt himself being physically shaken into consciousness while an extremely familiar and slightly grating voice yelled into his ears. He felt immensely grateful when the shaking temporarily stopped but regretted it immediately once a huge beam of bright sunlight shinned directly into his face.

 

“Five more minutes, Joe,” David whined as he buried his face into one of the pillows in an attempt to hide from the sunlight; he assumed Joe had ripped open the curtains in frustration.

 

“Jesus, did Beth slip something into your drink last night?” Joe asked, his voice still way too loud for David’s sleep muddled ears. “It’s like, one in the afternoon. Come on, Web.”

 

“I need sleep,” David groaned.

 

“You’ve had like, eleven hours,” Joe said in exasperation. “What the fuck are you a koala?”

 

David didn’t respond; between the quick break in Joe’s shaking and his loud voice David felt himself falling back asleep.

 

“Oh my god, seriously?” Joe exclaimed in exasperation before David felt the mattress shift and he realized that Joe had climbed on top of it. “Open up your eyes and let me see those pretty blues so I know you’re conscious.”

 

“Did you just tell me my eyes are pretty?” David murmured into his pillow, eyes still firmly shut.

 

“Honestly, Dave, we got shit to do,” Joe said, voice edging towards genuine annoyance.

 

Realizing whatever patience Joe had to begin with was quickly evaporating, David gave up any idea of sleep and opened his eyes. He was in one of the Liebgott’s guestrooms, the same one he had stayed in over winter break. Joe was stretched out on his side next to him, head propped up with his hand, looking slightly annoyed.

 

“Good afternoon, sleeping beauty,” Joe greeted him dryly.

 

“What time is it?” Webster asked as he rubbed at his sleep-filled eyes.

 

“Little after one,” Joe answered. “Seriously did one of my sisters drug you last night? I wouldn’t put it past them but…”

 

“I don’t think they drugged me, Joe. I’m just tired.”

 

Joe and David didn’t get back to San Francisco until late the night before. David had barely gotten out of Joe’s car before he was attacked by Joe’s older sisters, Izzy and Beth, while Joe bitched about being ignored by his own family. After Izzy and Beth had warmly greeted David, and eventually Joe, they entered the house together. Once Joe and Web got a chance to drop their bags off to their rooms they were dragged back downstairs by the sisters. Due to the late hour Joe’s parents were already in bed but his sisters were still wide awake and ready to catch up with David and annoy the shit out of Joe.

 

There had been pizza and laughter and teasing and a ton of ‘hipster beer’ as Joe put it before the four of them called it a night. It had been relaxing, sitting out on the back porch with Joe and his sisters while they drank and ate and swapped stories.

 

It felt like home. Not like his family house felt but like how Hanks House felt like home; there was warmth and noise and David genuinely felt like he was wanted.

 

“Well get up and get dressed,” Joe said. “You missed breakfast by several hours but I might be persuaded to whip you up a little something before we head out.”

 

“How kind of you,” David grumbled as he forced himself to sit up. “Where are we going?”

 

“I’ll tell you later,” Joe smiled as he slipped off the bed. “Just pretty yourself up and meet me downstairs in half an hour okay?”

 

“Joe,” David called out as Liebgott slipped out of his room.

 

Feeling slightly irritated, not unusual for him first thing after waking up, David kicked the blankets off of him before he got out of bed and walked over to where his suitcase lay open on the floor. He grabbed a fresh change of clothes, a towel, and his toiletry bag before he exited his room and headed down the hall to the bathroom.

 

Almost a half an hour later David exited the bathroom, now freshly shaven, showered, changed, and a little more awake than before. When he finally arrived downstairs in the kitchen he found Joe at work in front of the stove.

 

“There’s a fresh pot of coffee for you,” Joe said after a quick glance over his shoulder to confirm it was David who entered the kitchen. “I know how you are; you’re gonna need at least half of the pot before you’re ready to go anywhere. Eggs are done. Pancakes need a couple more minutes though.”

 

“Where’s everyone else?” David asked as he grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured himself a mug of coffee; he couldn’t help but notice that the house was unusually quiet, especially for a Saturday afternoon.

 

“Mom’s out shopping, Dad’s somewhere helping out a friend, Beth is at work, and I’m pretty sure Izzy is still asleep,” Joe answered. “I don’t know who sleeps more, you or her.”

 

“What’s so bad about sleeping a lot?” David asked as he set his coffee cup down on the small eat-in table.

 

“Besides the fact that oversleeping in bad for you,” Joe said as he pointed a spatula at him, “you’re wasting away your life. Why be unconscious when you could be out doing something fun. Live your life, Web.”

 

“I can’t help how much I sleep,” David said as he walked back to the cabinet and grabbed a plate. “I’ve always slept a lot.”

 

“That’s bullshit, Web, you can totally fix you bad sleep habits,” Joe insisted as he flipped over a large, fluffy pancake; David was unsurprised when the cooked side was a beautiful, even golden-brown. “It’s like fucking up your sleep schedule when you’re on vacation and then going back to school. You just need to set like fifty alarms so that you wake up when you’re supposed to and eventually it gets evened out.”

 

“I _have_ tried setting alarms, Joe, and I just sleep through them all,” David said as he scooped a serving of scrambled eggs from the pan onto his plate.

 

“Set more alarms then.”

 

“That’s rude to Leckie,” David countered. “I don’t wanna wake him up fifty times with my alarms just because I can’t wake up.”

 

“Fuck Leckie,” Joe said without any real heat in his voice. “Tell him to sleep in his girlfriend’s room.”

 

“I am not kicking him out of his own room,” Web sighed before he grabbed a fork out of the correct drawer and headed back to the table. David took his first bite of eggs and found them a million times better than whatever was served at the dining hall. “Maybe I have a sleeping disorder.”

 

“Maybe you’re just lazy,” Joe countered as he loaded up a large plate with several fluffy pancakes.

 

Joe sat the large plate on the table before he grabbed butter and syrup from the refrigerator. By the time he got his own plate of eggs and loaded it up with pancakes the backdoor of the house swung open and Joe’s mother walked into the kitchen.

 

“Oh, David! You’re awake,” Mrs. Liebgott exclaimed before she sat down her shopping bags and walked over to the table. She kissed David on the top of his head before she did the same to Joe. “I’m sorry I wasn’t up when you got in last night.”

 

“It’s okay,” David smiled up at her. “We got in pretty late.”

 

“Not exactly a drive down the road,” she nodded as she patted his shoulder. “Look at this,” she said as she motioned at all the food laid out on the table. “Joseph’s spoiling you. I wish he would cook for me like he cooks for you.”

 

“ _Ma_ ,” Joe grumbled through a mouthful of pancakes, looking slightly embarrassed.

 

“I’m just teasing,” she said before she reached out and ruffled Joe’s hair, which only succeeded in deepening Joe’s scowl. “So what are you boys up to today?”

 

“We’re going out in a bit,” Joe answered while he ignored David’s questioning stares from across the table.

 

“Where to?”

 

“It’s a surprise,” Joe said as he leveled a look at his mother over the rim of his coffee cup.

 

“ _Oooh,_ a _surprise_ ,” she said as she backed away from them and returned to her groceries. “Just be careful wherever you’re going. I don’t want to hear about you boys on the six o’clock news.”

 

Once they finished with their meal and cleaned up the kitchen a little, Joe and David grabbed their phones and wallets before heading out to Joe’s car.

 

“Are you ever going to tell me where we’re going?” David asked ten minutes into the ride as he fiddled with the radio station.

 

“If I told you, it’d ruin the surprise, Web,” Joe said flatly before he reached out and slapped David’s hand away from the radio. “Just pick a station and stick with it, will ya? Quit changing it every thirty seconds.”

 

Web settled on the least obnoxious station before he pressed himself against the car door and stared out the window. When Joe pulled the car onto the highway his curiosity increased but after over thirty minutes of driving, David was done with the charade.

 

“You’re kidnapping me.”

 

“If I were kidnapping you I would have shoved you in the trunk,” Joe replied and he whipped through the other cars on the highway. Joe always drove too fast and too recklessly in David’s opinion; it was a wonder how he hadn’t racked up a bunch of speeding tickets.

 

“Would you slow down?” David asked as he leaned over and glanced at the speedometer on the dashboard. “You’re going eighty-five in a seventy zone. You’re gonna get pulled over.”

 

“I don’t see any cops anywhere, Web, I’m not gonna get pulled over.”

 

“Cops hide-”

 

“I’ve driven this route a hundred times. I know all the cops hiding spots so I know when to slow down.”

 

“You’ve driven this way a hundred times?” Web asked. “Where are we going?”

 

“Fuck,” Joe sighed as he changed lanes and sped up again. “Maybe I _should_ have shoved you in the trunk. Would be a much more relaxing ride.”

 

“I’m sorry me asking you to slow down so we don’t die in a fiery crash and wondering where you’re taking me is getting in the middle of your Saturday afternoon drive,” David grumbled.

 

“Haven’t you ever had someone surprise you before, Web?” Joe asked in exasperation. “Surprise parties? Spontaneous gifts or adventures?”

 

“The only surprises I ever got growing up were bad ones,” David said quietly. “Finding out a relative died, my parents telling me what new life decision they had made for me… coming home and finding out that my own brother outed me to our homophobic parents… not a big fan of surprises.”

 

The only sound in the car for a long moment was the music coming out of the crackling radio. David tried to focus on the music and not the still fresh memory of coming home to find his mother and father waiting for him, looking like a firing squad. Before the memory could fully surface and take David under, he felt one of Joe’s boney hands grip one of his and squeezed it tightly, bringing him back to the present.

 

“First off, Dave, your brother is the biggest asshole ever,” Joe said firmly. “And if I ever meet the kid I don’t know if there will be anything left of him for your equally asshole-ish parents to find.”

 

David smiled slightly at the comment but he still felt hollow inside. He didn’t want to be happy at the idea of Joe beating up his brother. He didn’t want to feel joy over Joe calling his family members the biggest assholes ever. He wanted his family to be normal, to be like Joe’s; a family that wasn’t perfect and had flaws but there was love. His family- his _blood relatives_ were never going to be that, not to him, and he needed to accept that. It wouldn’t do him any good to spend his energy wishing for things that would never happen.

 

“Secondly, I am gonna start changing your track record with surprises, okay? Because this is gonna be a good one, I promise,” Joe insisted as he switched lanes and exited the highway.

 

David decided to stop pressing Joe for an answer as to where they were going. He trusted Joe and knew that he wouldn’t hurt him with some shitty surprise. Now that they were off the highway, Web rolled down the window and rested his head on the door, letting the warm, salty air blow at his face. He loved the smell of the air around here; it calmed him.

 

“You look like a dog, sticking your head out the window like that,” Joe said with a small laugh as they stopped at a red light.

 

David turned his head to glare at Joe and found him smiling at him with what could only be described as a loving looking in his eyes. David dropped his scowl and turned back to look out the window while he felt his heartrate speed up slightly.

 

“I don’t mean that like a bad thing, Web,” Joe continued once they started to move again. “Dogs are great. They’re pretty cute.”

 

“Gee, thanks,” Web said dryly. “I feel special.”

 

“That’s what I’m here for.”

 

A few minutes later and Web began seeing several large and strangely shaped structures in the distance, structures that got closer and clearer the more they drove. Soon enough it became quite clear to David what he was seeing: rollercoasters.

 

“Joe,” David said slowly as he turned to look at Joe, who was now smirking cockily, “where are we going?”

 

“I told you before I’m not telling,” he grinned.

 

“Are we going to an amusement park?” David asked cautiously while some odd feeling, a mixture of anxiety and excitement, bubbled up inside of him.

 

“Not just an amusement park, Web. We’re going to the _boardwalk,_ ” Joe corrected. “Have you ever ridden a rollercoaster before?”

 

“No,” David answered; right now it felt as if anxiety was winning over excitement.

 

“Well I promise I’ll let you hold my hand if you get scared. Just don’t throw up on me, alright?”

 

* * *

 

“Mind if I join you?”

 

Leckie looked up from his place on the couch and found his sister Karen standing behind him. In respond he moved his feet from the edge of the couch to make room for her.

 

“More the merrier,” he said as she sat down.

 

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon in the Leckie household and with the persistent drizzle and chill outside, Leckie found himself forced inside. His father was… somewhere, he hadn’t really put in any effort to find out where exactly he had run off to, which left the living room and the television free.

 

“I’m surprised you decided to come home,” Karen spoke up after several moments of comfortable silence.

 

“I’m surprised too,” Leckie admitted. “Spur of the moment decision.”

 

“You didn’t come home for Thanksgiving but you come home for this?” Her tone wasn’t accusatory, more curious than anything.

 

“Karen, I’m sure even you will acknowledge the fact that Thanksgiving in this house, between mom overcooking the turkey and dad undercooking the stuffing and everyone jammed into the dining room, is one of the worst things ever,” Leckie pointed out; he was slightly surprised when Karen smiled slightly instead of huffing and rolling her eyes like she usually did.

 

“The turkey wasn’t that bad this year,” she said.

 

“You ever heard of Stockholm syndrome?” Bob asked; this time he got the signature huff-eye roll combination.

 

Leckie’s cell phone pinged with the arrival of a new text message; it was from Vera. Leckie was so engrossed in texting that he didn’t notice his sister watching him out of the corner of his eye or the arrival of his mother.

 

“Who are you talking to?” his mother asked pleasantly, breaking Leckie out of his temporary bubble.

 

“A friend,” Leckie answered lamely.

 

“It’s probably a girl,” Karen supplied, causing Leckie to frown at her. “Well am I wrong, Bobby?”

 

“What’s her name?” his mother pressed with a smile.

 

Leckie debated for a moment against telling his mother and sister about Vera; he was generally opposed to giving out too many details about his personal life to his family, Bob couldn’t even remember if he had ever mentioned Stella to his family. After a moment’s hesitation, Bob gave in; he wasn’t ashamed of Vera, she was amazing and he wanted everyone to know how great of a person he had found.

 

“Vera.”

 

“Knew it,” Karen sighed before she turned back to the television.

 

“ _Karen_ ,” his mother scolded before she turned back to look at Bob and smiled. “Well, it looks like you were enjoying your conversation… is Vera just a friend or…?”

 

“She’s my girlfriend, actually,” Leckie answered. “We’ve been dating for about a month now.”

 

“Oh, Bob, that’s wonderful,” his mother exclaimed; Bob couldn’t help but feel like she really meant it. “Why didn’t you mention it earlier?”

 

“Just hasn’t come up, I suppose.”

 

“Well, I’m happy for you, Bob,” his mother said kindly. “You look a lot happier than usual and I’m sure Vera has something to do with it.”

 

“Well you’re not wrong about that,” Bob commented as he watched his mother edge hesitantly closer to him.

 

“And she goes to your school?”

 

“Yeah, mom,” Leckie answered slowly; it wasn’t often that his mother asked so many questions about his personal life and it was an even rarer occurrence that he answered so many. He was in uncharted territory here.

 

“Did she go home for break as well?” Mrs. Leckie asked as she sat down in the armchair that was usually coveted by Foddy Leckie.

 

“Yep.”

 

“Does she live in California or…?”

 

“She’s actually from New Jersey too. Lives just south of Newark.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Well now I know why you decided to come home,” Karen commented quietly.

 

“You should invite her to come to the party tomorrow,” his mother continued over Karen’s comment.

 

“What?” Leckie exclaimed.

 

“Yeah, Lucy’s bringing along her boyfriend too,” his mother explained. “I know it’s short notice and she might have plans but if you wanted to bring her along, we’d be happy to have her.”

 

Leckie froze. Introducing Vera to his family was probably the last thing he wanted to do this week but the more he thought about it, the less awful the idea sounded. Vera would only have to endure direct contact with his parents for the quick car ride to his brother’s apartment complex where the party was taking place and after that, they would probably be able to disappear or at least mingle with the handful of family members Leckie actually enjoyed.

 

“Um, I’ll ask her, mom,” Leckie said as he looked at his mother’s hopeful expression.

 

“Well, let me know what she says,” she said before she got up from the seat and exited the living room.

 

* * *

 

Eventually their plane stopped getting delayed and they were able to board. A part of Eugene wanted to talk about what had happened the night before, maybe ask if they could just pretend it didn’t happen, but he had a feeling that bringing up such a topic while trapped on a plane wasn’t the best move. If the mood was lighter, if Eugene wasn’t feeling so shitty, if he still wasn’t so mortified over his drunken confession, he probably would have teased Merriell for how he white knuckled the armrests for the entire flight but since things were the way they were, Eugene stayed silent on the flight.

 

After they touched down in New Orleans and they got out of the terminal Eugene suggested they go straight to the hospital from the airport. Shelton suggested they find a place to crash and toss their bags.

 

“You wanna go to a hospital with all this shit?” Merriell asked as he gestured to their overstuffed backpacks. “Nah, we gotta find a place to crash. Maybe you can get a shower too; you still look pretty rough, Sledge.”

 

Eugene couldn’t deny the fact that he had definitely seen better days: he could feel a slight scruff growing across his jaw, he was sure there were major bags under his eyes, he had a feeling he still smelled of beer from the night before, and he kept finding sand in his hair; his mother would probably faint if she saw him looking so scruffy while out in public. Eugene really wanted to get to the hospital as soon as possible but now that Shelton mentioned a shower, he couldn’t drive the thought from his mind.

 

After a quick search, they found a cheap motel near the hospital and headed there once they managed to wrangle a taxi. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until they already arrived at the motel that they informed that the motel did not allow anyone under the age of 21 to rent a room.

 

“What the fuck?” Shelton growled.

 

“I’m sorry, sir-,” started the tired young woman who worked at the front desk.

 

“Ma’am, I have a major credit card you can put down as collateral,” Eugene said as he pulled out his wallet. “Can’t you just do that?”

 

“I’m really sorry, sir, but it’s our company policy and I can’t go against it,” she apologized. “I can point you in the direction of some places that do rent to people under twenty-one if you’d like.”

 

“We’d appreciate that, thank you very much,” Eugene said politely before Shelton could say anything else.

 

Everything, however, seemed to be against Eugene and Merriell today. When they arrived at the next possible location, they found that they were all filled up; same with the other alternative lodging the woman suggested. It should have been expected, Eugene realized as they exited the third attempt, seeing as it was spring break in New Orleans.

 

“Knew I shouldn’t have come,” Shelton hissed as they stood outside the motel. “Between the plane and this bullshit with the rooms? More proof that I shouldn’t fucking be here.”

 

“You need go to the hospital, Shelton,” Eugene said tiredly. “Let’s just go there now, okay? Before things get worse.”

 

“I have a better idea, how about we go back to the airport and get on flight back to fucking California?” Shelton suggested. “Maybe if we get back soon enough I can fucking enjoy my spring break like everyone else.”

 

“Shelton-”

 

“I’m not fucking going, Eugene,” he said firmly, pale eyes filled with anger and determination. “I don’t give a shit. Let him rot in that hospital bed for all I care.”

 

“Even if we were going to go back to the airport-,” Eugene began tiredly before Shelton cut him off.

 

“What do you mean ‘if’?”

 

“-the next flight back to campus doesn’t leave until Monday morning,” Eugene explained. “We can’t camp out in an airport for two days.”

 

“What are you talking about? People do it all the time on the Amazing Race and shit. There was a movie about a guy who lived in a fucking airport terminal for years, Sledge.”

 

“Mer,” Eugene said firmly, feeling his irritation rise from inside of him. “We need a place to stay. Can’t you think of anywhere we could crash?”

 

“…yeah,” Shelton said quietly after a long pause. “Yeah, I can think of one place. It ain’t gonna be pretty, but it’s free.”

 

Despite the hesitation Eugene felt, he followed Shelton into another taxi and watched as he directed the driver where to go; his need for a shower and a place to rest his head outweighed any concern he felt. Twenty minutes later they pulled up in front of a dilapidated house; Eugene wasn’t even sure if anyone lived in it.

 

“Is this an abandoned house?” Eugene asked after they paid the driver and exited the car.

 

“Technically I guess it is now,” Shelton answered cryptically as he pushed open the rusted metal gate that surrounded the property.

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“This is my dad’s place,” he answered without looking at Eugene. “Promised you it wasn’t going to be pretty, didn’t I?”

 

Eugene followed him up the front steps, which he sure were about to break the second he put pressure on them, and onto the front porch. The front door was unlocked; Shelton didn’t seem to be surprised by that fact. Together they entered the house and Eugene took in the level destruction: crushed beer cans and empty liquor bottles littered the floor everywhere he looked, all the furniture appeared to be beaten up and falling apart, singed with cigarette burns, there was a heavy, musty smell in the air, as if no one had opened a window in months.

 

“I warned ya,” Shelton said as if he was reading Eugene’s mind. “Sure you don’t wanna camp out in an airport terminal?”

 

“Yes,” Eugene said firmly; Shelton might be trying to scare him back to a plane but he wasn’t going to back down.

 

“I don’t know if my old man paid the water bill recently,” Merriell continued as he moved down the hallway.  “You might not get that shower anyhow, Sledge.”

 

“I’ll live.”

 

Eugene watched as Shelton entered what he assumed was the bathroom and listened with baited breath as Merriell turned the squeaky knobs of the shower. A moment later he was greeted by the sound of water beating the hard floor of a shower.

 

“You’re in luck, Sledge, we got water,” he called from inside the bathroom before he turned the shower off. “I would recommend you wear your flip-flops if you go in there; if you’re afraid to go barefoot in the showers at Hanks House you’re definitely not gonna wanna barefoot that shit.”

 

“Thanks for the warning,” Eugene said dryly.

 

“My room’s probably not this bad,” he said after a pause as he motioned to the garbage that lay scattered across the floor. “Don’t think he’s entered it since I’ve left.”

 

Merriell’s room sat at the end of the hall and thankfully it was as Shelton predicated and a lot cleaner than the hallway and the living room. There was dust everywhere though; every step on the old carpet brought up a small puff of dust.

 

“I’ll open a window,” Shelton grumbled as he dropped his bag on the floor and headed over to the one window in the room.

 

Eugene looked around the room while Shelton’s back was turned: a bed, a set of dresser drawers, a half-open closet where he could see a couple pieces of outgrown clothes hanging up, some old and broken toys scattered about, and a few faded posters hung on the wall. Dusty and slightly matted carpet covered the ground and pale, chipping paint coated the walls. There was nothing personal or distinct about the room and there was definitely an air of neglect that came from every corner of the room.

 

“Doubt there’s a clean towel in this place,” Shelton said, breaking Eugene out of his thoughts. “Hope you brought your own.”

 

“Yeah, I got my own,” Eugene answered as he took off his backpack and began rummaging inside it.

 

“Well, you go get presentable or whatever,” he said before he collapsed on top of his bed, creating another dust cloud. “I’m gonna take a nap.”

 

“You’re not gonna sneak out while I’m in the shower, are you?”

 

“I wasn’t thinking about it but now that you mentioned it-”

 

“I’ll call Roe if you do,” Eugene threatened. “I’m sure he’ll be able to help me track you down.”

 

“Go and soak your head, Sledge,” Snafu bit out before he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket.

 

Eugene was pretty sure that was the quickest shower of his life. Between the general unpleasantness of the shower and his anxiety over Shelton fleeing while he was in there, Eugene couldn’t help but rush. Eugene really could use a couple hours of sleep along with the shower but he knew he couldn’t sleep right now. He needed to get Shelton to the hospital, which was much easier said than done.

 

Once he got out of the shower he found Shelton half-asleep on his bed with a half-smoked cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth. While he hadn’t been all that excited to return to his old home, now that he was settled in Merriell seemed set to stay put for a while.

 

“We have to get there before visiting hours end,” Eugene reminded him.

 

“And if we don’t, we’ll just go there tomorrow,” Shelton said with a shrug. “You said it yourself, there ain’t another plane back to school until Monday. What’s the hurry?”

 

“ _The hurry_? Your dad is fucking dying in a hospital bed right now, Shelton,” Eugene snapped. “Now get off your ass.”

 

Between arguing with Shelton and waiting for a taxi it was over another hour before they arrived at the hospital. The waiting room was crowded when they arrived, yet another byproduct of spring break in New Orleans, but they were able to find a nurse who led them to where they needed to be rather quickly.

 

Shelton’s father was in the ICU. Before they entered the ICU, the nurse called over a young doctor who wore what had to be their practiced Bad News expression.

 

“Mr. Shelton, I’m so glad you were able to make it down here on such short notice,” the doctor said solemnly; Eugene could see Merriell pull a small face at being called ‘Mr. Shelton’ out of the corner of his eye. “Now, I know that when you were called and notified about your father’s condition, you were told that he was in a coma and unresponsive with major head trauma. We did a CAT scan and I’m really sorry to tell you this but… the scan showed that your father is brain dead. I’m sorry but there’s nothing we can do.”

 

“So he’s not gonna wake up?” Merriell asked, his tone as flat and casual as normal, face looking almost bored.

 

“No. I’m really sorry,” the doctor said softly.

 

“Don’t be,” Merriell shrugged, which earned a slightly confused expression from the doctor.  “I’m not. Why should you?”

 

“Um…”

 

“Shelton,” Eugene hissed; was Shelton actually going to keep this shit up here?

 

“Uh, I’ll take you to your father, give you some time with him,” the doctor continued, struggling slightly to return to his previous apologetic state through his confusion.

 

Eugene and Shelton followed the doctor down a row of beds before they reached one with the privacy curtain pulled around it.

 

“I’ll give you some time with him,” the doctor said before the left them alone.

 

Merriell pulled the curtain back and revealed his father lying on the hospital bed, hooked up to several different machines. Merriell’s father was built the same way as him, too scrawny for his height, and had the same erratic curls.

 

“Are you okay?” Eugene asked as he turned to look at Merriell; he looked just as bored as he had when they were talking to the doctor.

 

“Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?” Shelton asked, sounding annoyed.

 

“Mer, it’s okay to be upset, you know. I won’t-”

 

“You won’t _what_ , Sledge? Judge me when I start _sniffling_ and _crying_?” Shelton sneered as he got up into Eugene’s face. “When I dramatically throw myself onto his body and ask God _why_ he had to take him away from me? When I need you to hold me because I am just so _fucking distraught_ that my _piece of shit_ father is brain dead? Now I don’t know what fantasies you’ve been cooking up but that shit is not gonna happen so drop it.”

 

“Shelton,” Eugene hissed. “Can’t you at least try to be respectful-”

 

“Why? Asshole wasn’t respectful to me for a fucking day of my life.”

 

“He’s dying-”

 

“And braindead so what the fuck does it matter if I call him an asshole to his face? He can’t hear me-”

 

“ _Shelton_ -”

 

“Excuse me but is there a problem here?”

 

Eugene and Merriell turned and found the young doctor standing near them again, looking a little hesitant.

 

“Nope, no problem here,” Shelton answered.

 

“I just wanted to remind you to try to keep your voices down; there are sick people trying to rest-”

 

“Yeah, sorry about that, Doc, but we won’t be here much longer,” Shelton continued. “So my old man’s braindead, do I gotta sign any paperwork or whatever to take him off life support or can I just give you the go-ahead and clear out of here?”

 

“Wait, Mr. Shelton are you sure? You seem to have come to that decision rather quickly.”

 

“What can I say, thought about it on the plane ride over,” Shelton shrugged. “And if he’s not gonna get any better, it would just be a waste of money and space to keep him here, right?”

 

“Well, yeah-”

 

“So pull the plug, Doc. It’s for the best. Now how about you get me whatever forms I gotta sign so that I can get my ass outta here.”

 

“Uh, sure.”

 

“Will you excuse us for a second, Doctor?” Eugene asked before he grabbed onto Shelton’s arm and tugged him out of the ICU and into the hallway.

 

“What the fuck, Sledge?” Merriell exclaimed once they were in the hallway.

 

“Will you quit acting so fucking blasé about this? Can’t you even pretend you give a shit?”

 

“No, Sledge, I don’t think I can and frankly, I don’t see why I should fucking have to,” Shelton snapped. “That man didn’t pretend to give a shit about me my entire life so why should do that for him?”

 

“He’s your father-!”

 

“Blood wise, yeah, but besides that, no, he ain’t my dad, Sledge. I never had a dad,” Shelton growled, face close to Eugene’s again. “All I ever had was that piece of shit who beat me, neglected me, and yelled at me for all my life. He didn’t fucking want me. He was _stuck_ with me after my mama had the good sense to get her ass outta here. He wouldn’t be shedding tears over me if our places were switched.”

 

“You’re his kid, of course he would-”

 

“You don’t get it, Eugene! Just stop,” Shelton ordered fiercely. “Not everyone is lucky enough to have a family like yours! Not everyone gets a fucking family who loves and cares about them! Now if that was your family member in there, I’d expect you to be crying and mourning and all that shit because your family is decent people and that’s what they deserve. That man in there? He don’t deserve shit from me. Honestly, this is the nicest thing he’s ever done for me, getting off this mortal coil sooner rather than later. Maybe someday I’ll be lucky enough to forget he ever even existed.”

 

“Mer…”

 

“Fuck him and fuck you for dragging me here,” Merriell growled as he backed away from Eugene.

 

Eugene remained where he stood outside the ICU while he watched Merriell storm down the hospital hallway and into the stairwell at the end of the hall, not sure if he should follow after Shelton or not.

 

* * *

 

George woke up hours later just as the sun was going down in the horizon. Between the alcohol that had finally worked its way through his system and his five hour nap he felt extremely disorientated.

 

“What day is it?” Luz groaned as he tried to rub the heavy feeling he had in his eyes away.

 

“Saturday,” Frank answered from where he sat on his bed, book in hand.

 

“Please tell me it’s still the first Saturday of spring break and that I didn’t go into a week-long coma.”

 

“You were only out a couple hours, Luz, relax.”

 

“Ugh, what time is it?” George yawned as he reached for his phone to check the time; it was quarter to eight at night. “Do you know if anyone else is conscious?”

 

“Couldn’t say. It’s been pretty quiet today,” Frank answered. “Actually was able to read in peace for once.”

 

“If you wanna read somewhere quiet like the old man you are go to the library, Frank,” George suggested as he pulled his blankets off of himself and swung his legs over the edge of his bed. “Man, I’m starving. You wanna grab a bite?”

 

“Depends on where you’re going,” Perconte responded.

 

“Well, food hall closes early on Saturdays so that’s not an option. Thinking maybe that diner right off of campus?”

 

“Yeah, I’d go there.”

 

“I’m gonna go see if anyone else is alive and wants to join us,” Luz declared before he got off of his bed and wandered into the hall.

 

The fifth floor was still unusually quiet when he walked out into it; there was more noise than earlier today but it definitely was a lot tamer than a usual Saturday night. After making rounds through the dorm, George and Frank exited Hanks House with their usual crew of misfits and headed out into the early night. The night air was cool and brisk, perfect for waking George back up after his marathon nap. As it turned out, talking to the guys as they made their way to the diner, he wasn’t the only one who had passed out hard.

 

“The second we got back Walt crashed like a sack of potatoes,” Skinny declared. “I was worried he stopped breathing for a bit there.”

 

“Ugh, jealous man,” Ray exclaimed. “I should have come up to your room and cuddled with Walt for a bit.”

 

“What was wrong with your room?” Penkala asked.

 

“Brad was being an ass. Go figure,” Ray shrugged.

 

“I didn’t hear any yelling,” Frank said. “Usually I can hear Colbert bitch from two floors up.”

 

“Nah, he didn’t bitch, just went all passive-aggressive roommate on me; I guess it could be worse,” Ray explained. “He just decided that today was the perfect day to do some epic spring cleaning. Now I’m able to sleep through a lot of shit but I’m pretty sure Brad was putting the vacuum right against my ear.”

 

“Man, I do not know how you deal with that shit,” Malarkey commented with a shake of his head.

 

“Me and Brad are BFF’s, man. He deals with a lot of my bullshit so I guess I’ll deal with him reacting to my bullshit,” Ray grinned. “And if shit ever goes really overboard I’ll just call his mom or his sister and have them yell at him for me. We have a system.”

 

The diner was mostly empty when they arrived and after the eight young men entered the noise inside the building went up several decibels. Once they were seated, they began piecing together the highlights from the night before.

 

“Were you all there when Ray almost blew his face off with those firecrackers?” Walt asked.

 

“If I was I don’t remember,” Luz answered before he looked at Ray and glanced at his face, searching for any possible scorch marks. “Looks like you still got your eyebrows.”

 

“Nah, man they’re patchy as fuck. Didn’t even realize it until I got back to the dorm,” Ray responded with a grin. “But I borrowed Rudy’s eyebrow pencil and filled them in. Gotta stay on my A-game for the ladies.”

 

“What ladies?” Malarkey asked. “The blind ones?”

 

“Probably would need to be deaf too,” Penkala added.

 

“Well, Luz, I got a video of it if you wanna see later,” Walt continued. “Gonna put it online later. It might get more views than the one of Ray singing Avril Lavigne on karaoke.”

 

“I got a hundred-percent on that shit,” Ray decided. “I’m putting that video on my resume.”

 

“You were playing on easy mode,” George reminded him. “Hey, Frank, were you the one who took the video of Skip jumping into the water last night?”

 

“Nah, it was Penk,” Frank answered.

 

“Wait, Skip went into the water?” Skinny asked. “How did I not hear about this?”

 

“You weren’t there for that?”

 

“No, I think I was still playing volleyball then. How drunk was Skip when he agreed to this?”

 

“Well I was drunk enough that the water felt nice,” Skip answered with a shrug.

 

“And you didn’t get hypothermia or pneumonia from that?”

 

“What can I say? I’m blessed.”

 

“More like dumb luck if you ask me.”

 

“Same thing.”

 

They stayed seated at their both in the corner long after they had all finished their food, all of them too comfortable to leave. While Skip and Penkala helped Ray piece together portions of his night that he had forgotten, Skinny and George competed to see who could get their waitresses phone number.

 

“Guys she is at least five years old than us,” Frank said as he watched the pretty waitress from across the room. “No way in hell is she gonna give either of you half-washed armpits her number.”

 

“Half-washed armpit?” Skinny asked.

 

“I can smell you from over here, man,” Frank said drily.

 

“I showered.”

 

“Yeah and then bathed yourself in Axe,” he said. “You smell like cheap aftershave and taco meat.”

 

“Wow, Frank, why are you being such a dick to me tonight?” Skinny asked, voice laced with fake hurt before something clicked in his mind. “Oh, wait, are you still mad at me because I threw up on you last night.”

 

“Those were my favorite jeans, Skinny, and it’s gonna take a scrub brush to get your regurgitated Jägermeister out of them,” Perconte stated in a deadly serious voice.

 

“Okay, first off, you should know by now to not wear your favorite _anything_ around us because there’s always a hazard of something getting fucked up. Secondly, I’ll buy you some new jeans, Frank, relax.”

 

“No you do not wanna agree to that, Skinny,” Luz interrupted. “Unlike the rest of us heathens, Frank does not buy his clothes from Wal-Mart. Pretty sure if you bought Frank a pair of socks it’d take out your weekly allowance.”

 

“Maybe one day you’ll actually have style and class like me,” Frank declared cockily while he straightened the collar of his shirt.

 

“So, while you two argue about your fashion choices, I am going to go talk to that lovely young lady,” Luz said before he sprung up from his seat and began walking over to where the waitress stood near the register.

 

“It’s not gonna happen,” Skinny said as he watched Luz out of the corner of his eye.

 

“You wanna bet?” Malarkey asked as he watched Luz talk up the waitress. “Twenty bucks says he gets a fake phone number just so that he’ll leave her alone.”

 

“Who cares,” Ray mumbled before he reached out for the salt shaker that sat in front of him and unscrewed the lid.

 

“What are you doing?” Walt asked warily.

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Ray said before he casually poured half of the shaker into Luz’s unattended drink.

 

Ray managed to screw the lid back on the shaker and forced everyone at the table to act as naturally as possible before Luz came back to the table.

 

“It looks to me like you’re still out of a phone number,” Skinny pointed out as Luz sat back down.

 

“Things like this take time, okay?” George said as he reached out for his drink. “I’ve planted the seeds in her brain, now I just gotta wait for the perfect moment.”

 

The table fell silent as Luz brought the straw to his lips and took a drink. A second later George’s eyes went wide before he sprayed his salty soda out across the table.

 

“Oh, fuck you guys,” George hissed while the rest of the table howled with laughter. “Which one of you assholes did this?”

 

George glared at the group of snickering guys as he wiped his mouth with a napkin and tried to look for the weak leak in the chain.

 

“It was Person,” Frank announced, which earned a scandalized look from Ray.

 

“I thought we were friends,” Ray gasped.

 

“Yeah but I’m Luz’s roommate. I’m not about to shit where I sleep.”

 

“You are a true friend, Frank,” George said as he reached out and patted Frank on the back. He then turned to look at Ray and pointed an accusatory finger. “You? I don’t like you. You’re gonna get it.”

 

“Bring it, bitch,” Ray declared gleefully.

 

Soon after that they group decided that it was time to move their party somewhere else. Luz stuck back after everyone had paid in a last ditch attempt to see if he could get a number out of the waitress.

 

“We’re leaving your ass behind, Luz,” Skip declared as they headed for the exit.

 

“I’ll catch up,” George said as he waved them away with a hand.

 

“He’s not gonna get a number,” Skinny said as they walked out of the diner.

 

“Dumbass is gonna get himself band from the place.”

 

A few moments after the exited the diner, Luz caught up to them, rubbing the side of his face as he did.

 

“No dice?” Frank asked with a shit-eating grin.

 

“No dice. She slapped me in the mouth,” George answered sullenly, causing Frank to laugh.

 

“Thanks for laughing at my pain, Perco.”

 

“That’s what friends are for, George.”

 

There was a quiet calm amongst the group for a moment before George suddenly lunged forwards, grabbed onto Skip’s shorts, and tugged downwards.

 

“What the fuck, Luz?” Skip exclaimed as he attempted to pull his shorts up with as much grace as possible. “Ray’s the one who put the salt in your drink, not me!”

 

“Yeah well, Ray’s out of reach right now,” Luz shrugged. “And by not warning me about Ray a-salting my drink, you all became a part of it so you’re all on my list.”

 

“ _Oooh, shit_ ,” Ray grinned as turned around and stared at Luz with wide, gleeful eyes. “It’s _on_.”

 

“What’s on?” Malarkey asked.

 

“Prank war motherfuckers. This shit is on like Donkey Kong.”

 

* * *

 

Babe still wasn’t quite sure how he managed to get so lucky. How did a guy like him manage to get something as great as waking up next to someone like Gene Roe? Babe couldn’t help but smile as he stared down at the man who slept sprawled next to him, half of his limbs thrown over Babe, snoring quietly while his hair stood up in every direction, looking like the very opposite of the cool and collected image he usually carried during his waking hours.

 

Babe wasn’t sure why but he felt wide awake; he could tell it was early based off his internal clock and the greyish light that came in through the window but he didn’t know the exact time. He knew he should just close his eyes, curl closer around his boyfriend, and try to fall back asleep but instead he reached out, grabbed his phone from off of the bedside table, and checked the time.

 

It wasn’t even seven in the morning; why the fuck was Babe awake?

 

Feeling slightly irritated, Babe flicked through his notifications for a moment before he looked at reminder that had come in a few hours ago.

 

**Reminder: Julian’s 19 birthday punches!**

 

Babe felt his heart skip a beat while his body broke out in a cold sweat. The hand that held his phone started to shake. He felt like he was going to be sick. Babe glanced across the room and stared at the empty bed, the empty walls that were once tackily covered in posters, the unused desk. Being to hyperventilate, Babe double-checked the date; it was March 23rd.

 

Today was what should have been Julian’s 19th birthday.

 

He dropped his cell phone on the ground before he laid back in bed. How could have he forgotten? He should have realized the day was coming up. How horrible of a friend was he that he hadn’t thought about it at all? Was he already forgetting Julian?

 

 _Don’t,_ Babe hissed inside his head as he felt his eyes begin to well up with fresh tears; he was so fucking sick of crying.

 

Babe brought his hands to his eyes and pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes in an attempt to keep everything inside. It wouldn’t work though because within seconds Babe’s face was wet with tears. A strangled noise erupted involuntarily from his throat and he quickly put a hand over his mouth; he glanced at Gene and found his still asleep.

_How could you have forgotten_? Babe asked himself while he tried to calm himself down. _You should have prepared for this._

 

He couldn’t help but think back to a random afternoon near the end of winter break when Babe was lounging in his bedroom with Julian and Spina while Bill was out on a date with Frannie. Spina had been checking out the spring semester schedule when he noticed that Julian’s birthday would fall right at the beginning of spring break. Julian had been so excited because meant that they could all do something ridiculous for his birthday.

 

“Babe,” Gene said groggily.

 

“Shit. Sorry,” Babe apologized while feeling, if possible, worse.

 

“Babe, what’s the matter?” Gene asked as he rose himself up onto an elbow and looked down at Babe with concern. “Nightmare?”

 

Babe opened his mouth but he struggled to explain what was wrong. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t say that it was Julian’s birthday and that instead of running across the room and punching his friend nineteen times as a wake-up call he was stuck staring at a cold, empty bed. He couldn’t say how if it wasn’t for that stupid reminder Babe was afraid that he might have forgotten his dear friend’s birthday all together, he couldn’t say how sick with grief he felt right now. Giving up on speech, Babe closed his mouth and shook his head weakly.

 

“Shhh, it’s okay,” Gene whispered as he wrapped his arms around Babe and brought Babe closer to him. Babe buried his face into Gene’s night shirt and closed his eyes when he felt Gene’s cool fingers begin to stroke the back of his head. “It’s gonna be okay, Babe.”

 

“Fuck,” Babe sobbed. “I’m sorry.”

 

On top of his grief Babe felt immensely guilty; this wasn’t the first time that Gene had been woken up by Babe sobbing and sick with grief. Almost every week Babe woke up at least once from nightmares and woke Gene up on accident; it was almost second nature for Gene to react when he woke up this way.

 

“Don’t be,” Gene murmured with his lips pressed against Babe’s forehead. “It’s gonna be okay, Babe. Just close your eyes and try to go back to sleep.”

 

Babe knew it wouldn’t work, but he did as suggested and closed his eyes while Gene continued to run his hands up and down his back. Eventually the tears stopped and his breathing evened out to an almost normal pace but by that time the early morning grey light had been replaced by bright, almost blinding mid-morning rays and Babe knew any hope of sleep was gone for the time being.

 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Gene asked quietly; Babe felt his heart sink when he saw the dark bags under his eyes. Poor guy barely slept as it was and now he had lost what little sleep he got because of Babe.

 

“Not really but…” Babe sighed. He almost never wanted to talk about it, the specifics of his nightmares, the always present pain that lurked deep in his heart, but he knew that he needed to. Everyone, from Bill to his mother to Sledge, warned him against bottling up his grief but it was easier said than done. “It’s… it’s _his_ birthday. Today.”

 

He was so lame he couldn’t even bring him to say Julian’s name aloud.

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yeah. I woke up and… there was a reminder on my phone I forgot to delete.”

 

“Babe, I’m sorry,” Gene said softly. “Do you wanna talk about it or, or anything?”

 

“No,” Babe declared firmly.

 

“That’s fine,” he said before he read the time off of the clock radio. “The food hall’s open now. Do you wanna get some breakfast?”

 

“I’m not hungry,” Babe responded as he turned away from Gene; he found suddenly that he couldn’t look at Gene now that the mortification that came with his newest break down hit him.

 

“You need to eat.”

 

“I will… just not right now,” Babe said before he sat up and wiped at his still damp face. “But you should go eat. You need to eat too.”

 

“I know,” Gene said before he lifted himself up on his elbows. “I will.”

 

“You should try and sleep some more too,” Babe mumbled while he stared down at his comforter covered feet; he couldn’t look at Gene right now and he definitely couldn’t look at the empty side of his dorm room either. “You look so tired.”

 

“Babe, I’m fine,” Gene insisted before he pushed himself up into a full sitting position. “Don’t worry about it.”

 

Babe couldn’t help but worry about it though. Gene was such an amazing guy who dealt with his nightmares and problems without ever thinking about it or getting annoyed by it. All Babe ever did was fuck up his already limit sleep and make him worry.

 

“I need some air,” Babe decided as he climbed out of bed, picked an abandoned hoodie off of the floor, and pulled it on.

 

“Okay,” Gene responded calmly. “Text or call me later if you want.”

 

“I will,” Babe nodded as he shoved his feet into his tennis shoes.

 

He knew he’d turn to Gene later, once he had some time to himself, maybe talked a bit with Bill and Spina, maybe even called his mom, he just couldn’t do that right now. Laying curled up in bed with him with his emotions still so raw felt too much like the night it happened for Babe to be comfortable. Babe grabbed his phone, wallet, and keys before he pressed a quick kiss to Gene’s cheek before he exited the room.

 

* * *

 

It was hours before Eugene saw Shelton again after he left him standing outside the ICU. Eugene let Merriell have some time to vent before he went looking for him around the hospital. He assumed that he would find Shelton out front where he saw a couple people smoking earlier but he wasn’t there. After Eugene had asked around, he realized that Shelton had escaped the hospital and now could be fucking anywhere. He was comforted by the fact that he knew there wasn’t another flight back to campus for another day but Eugene still knew there were a million places Shelton could have run off to without getting on a plane. Eugene had considered calling Roe but he decided against it; he’d give Shelton a little more time.

 

It took a little time but Eugene eventually found his way back to Merriell’s father’s house where he found it completely Shelton free. He guessed he should’ve been comforted by the fact that Merriell’s bag was still in his room but finding the house void of Merriell just meant that Eugene’s only lead was dead. Figuring there was no point in walking the streets of New Orleans looking for him, Eugene called it a night; he was still pretty sleep deprived and reeling a little from his hangover. Eugene ordered a pizza to the house and ate two or three slices before he tried calling Merriell again; he wasn’t surprised when he didn’t pick up. Eugene sent him a text telling him where he was before he fell asleep on Merriell’s bedroom floor; he felt a little weird sleeping on the bed.

 

Eugene woke up abruptly around sunup to what sounded like someone breaking into the house. Eugene sprang upright with his heart pounding in his throat. He searched the area for a possible weapon but before he could panic any more, the bedroom door burst open, revealing Shelton.

 

“Damn, Sledge, why did you have to lock the door?” Shelton complained. “I had to fucking crawl in through the front window.”

 

“Sorry,” Eugene apologized, feeling disorientated from his sudden wake up.

 

“What, you think anyone’s gonna try and come in here? Trust me, not even the bums want this place,” he grumbled before he crossed the room and sat down on the edge of his bed. “You sleep on the floor?”

 

“Yeah,” Eugene answered.

 

“You do realize there was a perfectly good bed right here right?” Merriell teased as he pointed to the bed; Eugene shrugged in response.

 

“Did you stay up all night?” Eugene asked.

 

“Nah, I slept a little.”

 

“Where? Out on a park bench?”

 

“Maybe I did,” Shelton retorted. “No, I got a couple places I used to go when I was younger; I was able to sleep at one of them.”

 

Eugene nodded but didn’t say anything while he let Shelton’s words sink in. Merriell had a list of places to escape to that he used when he was younger, places he sometimes had to use because whatever his father was doing to him was too much for a kid to deal with.

 

_“Not everyone is lucky enough to have a family like yours”_

 

“Listen, Mer, I’m sorry about the hospital,” Eugene apologized quietly. “I’m sorry I didn’t look at things from your perspective.”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Shelton huffed, eyes focusing on a spot of pealing pain on the wall. “’m sure a lot of people would have reacted the same way. Most people grew up with the idea that parents are at least half-decent.”

 

“You know, we do need to go back to the hospital,” Eugene reminded him slowly. “I talked to the doctor after you left and you do need to sign some forms before they take your dad off life support.”

 

“Figured,” Merriell muttered. “Mind if we get some breakfast or something first? I could use some coffee.”

 

Fifteen minutes later after they had changed and washed up, Eugene followed after Shelton as he lead him towards some nearby coffee place he knew of. It was relaxing, quietly walking with Merriell early in the morning. Eugene could still feel something weird in between them, something that hadn’t existed before, but it definitely felt better than yesterday morning. Perhaps Shelton was just going to let him off the hook, maybe they could still be friends.

 

They would need to talk about it eventually, Eugene knew, but again, now did not seem to be the best time. Maybe once this business with his father was over, Eugene would be able to bring it up. Not only did they have to acknowledge how Eugene felt, Eugene still needed an answer as to why Shelton chose to abandon him this past semester.

 

Merriell lead him to a small, hole in the wall kind of diner which was almost empty thanks to the early hour. After a quick and quiet breakfast, Merriell lead him towards the bus stop that would take them closest to the hospital. Another twenty minutes later and they were back at the hospital again. Eugene was sure that half of the people sitting in the waiting room when they arrived were still drunk from the night before but he didn’t have much room to judge, seeing as he was in a similar position yesterday.

 

A different nurse than yesterday showed them back upstairs where they met with the same young doctor from yesterday. He led them to a small office and pulled out a file of papers Merriell needed to fill out.

 

“You need all this just for me to tell you that it’s okay to pull the plug?” Shelton asked grumpily as he began filling out the paper work as best as he could.

 

“No, only the first page. The rest is more for record purposes,” the doctor answered. “You’re the only relative of your father’s that we could find and your father really isn’t in the condition to fill out the paperwork for himself.”

 

Merriell smirked slightly at the doctor’s comment.

 

“Yeah, we don’t really have much in the way of family,” Shelton muttered as he scribbled away at the clip board. “Doubt my mama would have been any help if you were able to track her down.”

 

“Well we were able to track her down but yeah, she wasn’t much help either,” the doctor said aloofly, earning the attention of Merriell and Eugene.

 

“Wait, what?” Eugene exclaimed.

 

“You tracked down her down?” Merriell asked slowly.

 

“Yeah, she’s… um, do you not know?” the doctor asked slowly.

 

“Doc, I don’t know shit about my mother,” Shelton answered. “Honestly. She split out of my life years ago. I barely even remember the woman.”

 

“Oh, well, in that case,” the doctor said, looking uneasy again, “um, when we were looking for your father’s next of kin, he still had his wife Henrietta listed as his emergency contact but we quickly found out that Henrietta Shelton passed away about ten years ago.”

 

Shocked, Eugene turned to look at Merriell and looked for some sign that his friend was upset but again there was nothing; he looked as normal as ever.

 

“She’s dead?” Merriell asked quietly and calmly.

 

“Yeah… I’m sorry for your loss… again.”

 

“Don’t be,” Merriell said as he returned to the paperwork in front of him. “She left me when I was just a toddler. She wasn’t a mom; just the person who happened to give birth to me.”

 

“Do you happen to know where she’s buried?” Eugene asked after a moment, which earned a glare out of the corner of Shelton’s eye.

 

“Sledge,” he warned quietly.

 

“I don’t have it on me right now but I know I can look it up again,” the doctor answered as he turned toward the computer on the desk.

 

“Don’t bother,” Shelton said firmly.

 

“Mer-”

 

“It doesn’t fucking matter, Eugene.”

 

“Don’t you want to know?”

 

“No,” he growled before he scribbled his signature at the bottom of the last form and tossed the clipboard at the doctor. “It was nice talking to you, Doc, see ya later.”

 

Eugene watched as Merriell got up from his chair and exited the office. Feeling annoyed Eugene got up from his seat as well.

 

“Sorry about him,” Eugene apologized. “Thank you for your help.”

 

“Do you still want the info on your friend’s mother’s plot location?” the doctor asked. “It’ll just take a moment. In case your friend changes his mind.”

 

“Yeah,” Eugene decided after a moment. “Yeah, I’d like that, thanks.”

 

* * *

 

“Are you still hungry, David?” Mrs. Liebgott asked Sunday afternoon as she got up from her seat at the kitchen table.

 

“Uh, no thank you, I’m pretty full actually,” David answered with a smile.

 

“Oh, you ask him if he wants more but not me?” Joe asked from where he sat next to Webster. “I see who your favorite is.”

 

“David is a guest, I’m being polite,” Mrs. Liebgott reminded him before she placed a gentle hand on Liebgott’s head and leaned in closer to him. “Would you like some more too, Joseph?”

 

“No, I’m fine,” Joe answered, which caused his mother to roll her eyes slightly before she gave a light slap to the back of his head.

 

Mrs. Liebgott picked up their dirty plates and carried them to the sink. It was Sunday afternoon and the three of them were the only ones at the Liebgott residence for the time being; Mr. Liebgott was out again, apparently watching the Giants game at a friend’s house, and Joe’s sisters were out having enjoying the day together. After Webster had pulled himself out of bed sometime before noon, Joe’s mother suggested that they have lunch together so that they could properly catch up.

 

“Do either of you boys want more coffee while I’m up?”

 

“I’m good, ma.”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“Alright,” she said before she poured herself a new cup and sat back down at the table. “So, David, Joe has recently explained your home situation to me.”

 

David nodded his head but remained quiet. Joe hadn’t said anything but he had figured as much had happened. Most normal people would wonder why Webster didn’t seem to have a family or house of his own to return home to over breaks.

 

“Now, summer’s coming up and I know you can’t live on campus during the summer.”

 

David nodded again while he got a hollow feeling in his stomach. He knew he needed to plan but every time he tried to think of what to do he felt sick. He knew time was running out and the longer he waited to do something the less options he’d probably have.

 

“So, I’ve been talking to Joe and the rest of the family and we’ve all agreed that if you need a place to stay over the summer, the guest room can be your room from now on,” Mrs. Liebgott stated.

 

“What?” David asked with wide eyes and a gaping mouth; he couldn’t have heard correctly.

 

“You can stay here,” Mrs. Liebgott repeated with a small smile. “You’re not going to live out on the streets just because your parents turned their backs on their own child. You can stay here with us.”

 

Webster stared for a long moment while the words slowly sunk in. He turned to Joe once he found his ability to speak again.

 

“Are you serious?” Webster asked slowly.

 

“No, I’m punking you,” Joe said flatly before he rolled his eyes and adopted a more serious tone. “Yes, I’m serious; I’m the one who suggested it to her. I’m not gonna let you sleep in a bus station for three months when we’ve got a perfectly good room here.”

 

“I… I can’t do that,” David said with a shake of his head. “I appreciate the offer but it’s too much, I can’t-”

 

“You can and you will,” Mrs. Liebgott said firmly. “Unless you have a better solution, of course, but as Joe tells me, you don’t have anywhere to go. Now, I understand you might be uncomfortable staying with your boyfriendfor so long and if that’s the issue, Elana has graciously offered you the spare room in her apartment. She’s been looking for a roommate and she’d be fine with you moving in. But if Joe’s not the issue, you can make the guest room your room. No matter what you decide, you will have a home. We’re not going to leave you on the streets.”

 

“I…I don’t know what to say,” David admitted quietly, feeling slightly disorientated.

 

“You should say ‘yes’,” Joe said as he looked at Webster. “Come on. You know you want to.”

 

“I do,” Webster agreed. “I do want to but-”

 

“But what?”

 

“But I just can’t accept something like this-”

 

“Oh, Web, can it.”

 

“Joseph,” his mother said sternly.

 

“It’s okay to accept help from people. I mean, if you’re really feeling that uncomfortable with this hand out, you can help around the house to earn your keep. We’ll find you a summer job and you can pay rent-”

 

“No, he won’t,” Mrs. Liebgott cut in. “You’ll get a summer job and save the money.”

 

“Ma, I’m trying to sell this okay?” Joe said as he gave his mother a slightly annoyed look before he turned back to David. “Honestly, Dave, do you have any other option? Even if you did, I doubt it would be better than this. Just swallow your pride for a minute and say yes.”

 

David looked at Joe for a long moment before he nodded. Joe was right. He didn’t have any options and this offer was like a gift from heaven. He was in no position to refuse something this good.

 

“Yes,” David said as he looked back at Mrs. Liebgott. “Yes, thank you. I’d love to stay here.”

 

“Good,” she grinned. “Now if you want, we can redecorate your room. Something better to your liking; I know it’s very plain right now.”

 

“It’s fine,” David said, feeling overwhelmed. “It’s really fine the way it is; you don’t have to make a fuss over it.”

 

“We’ll go shopping tomorrow,” Joe decided. “I bet Target has something shark-themed for you.”

 

“Joe-”

 

“You can do whatever you want, within reason of course,” Mrs. Liebgott said as she stood up from the table. “Paint, furniture, if you wanted to rip out that old carpeting you could; I’ve been looking for a new project.”

 

“We’ll make a design,” Joe told his mother while he ignored David’s stuttering.

 

“Sounds good,” she smiled before she walked over and kissed the both of them on the tops of their heads. “I need to go do some running around now. I’ll see you both later.”

 

David waited until Joe’s mother exited the kitchen before he turned to look at Joe.

 

“Don’t,” Joe sighed, rolling his eyes.

 

“You don’t even know what I’m gonna say.”

 

“Of course I do. You’re gonna look at me with those big blue eyes and ask ‘Joe, are you sure?’ like it wasn’t my fucking idea. And then you’re gonna stall and worry about how you could possibly accept such a kind offer and I’m gonna spend like, ten fucking minutes spelling out to you how my mother loves company and my sisters clearly like you more than their own brother and would be tickled if you stayed and how it’s really not a big deal. Was I close, Web?”

 

“Pretty close,” David muttered.

 

“So we’re done here, right?” Joe asked.

 

“Yeah,” he nodded as a smile slowly came to his face. “I’m staying here over break.”

 

“Good,” Joe said before he sprung up from his seat and grabbed Webster’s arm. “Now let’s go make use of one of the very few times that we have the entire house to ourselves, alright?”

 

* * *

 

“ _Eugh! What the hell is this?_ ” Penkala exclaimed, his voice carrying across the dining hall.

 

“That’s what you get for leaving your drink unattended,” Skip laughed as he leaned back in his seat, victorious. “Rookie mistake, man.”

 

“No but seriously, what did I just drink?” Alex asked. “I’m worried you might have poisoned me.”

 

“I might have taken a glass of Sprite and threw a little soy sauce in there so you’d think it was your Coke,” Skip explained before he pulled Alex’s actual cup out from under the table.

 

“Okay but you didn’t do anything to this did you?” Penk asked as he took the cup out of Skip’s hand.

 

“Nah, one prank is enough for right now.”

 

“I hate you,” Alex declared as he took a cautious drink from his cup. “And I hate Ray for starting this fucking prank war.”

 

“You’re just bitter because you’re losing.”

 

“Or maybe I’m just waiting to strike when you’re asleep,” he suggested.

 

“I don’t know if I feel safe sleeping in my bed anymore.”

 

Ever since the night before, Hank House had become a bit of a warzone. The game had started off with the original eight guys but even just after a couple of hours the prank war had expanded through the dorm.

 

“Do you know what they’re screaming about?” Renee asked as she sat down across the table from Gene.

 

“Prank war,” Gene answered as he turned away from them.

 

“What?”

 

“A bunch of the guys are trying to out-prank each other. It apparently started last night,” Gene explained. “It’s only a matter of time before somebody gets seriously hurt.”

 

“Maybe then they will stop,” Renee suggested.

 

“Unfortunately I think that’s the only thing that’ll bring this nonsense to an end,” Gene sighed.

 

“It won’t do any good to waste your time worrying about them,” Renee said. “It’s like dominos. The first one fell and there’s no stopping it now.”

 

“I guess you’re right.”

 

“So, how have you been enjoying your spring break so far, Eugene?” Renee asked before she smirked and got a knowing look in her eyes. “Been relaxing with your Edward?”

 

“A little, yeah,” Gene answered as he ducked his head in an attempt to hide the small blush that came to his face.

 

“How is he?”

 

“Not so good right now, actually,” he admitted.

 

“Why? What’s wrong?” Renee asked, concerned.

 

“He had a bit of a rough morning. I guess today is his friend Julian’s birthday,” Gene explained quietly. “He realized when he woke up and he was understandably upset.”

 

“Oh my god. That’s awful.”

 

“Yeah,” he mumbled in agreement.

 

“Where is he now? With his other friends from Philadelphia?”

 

“I don’t know,” Gene admitted. “I tried texting him but he ain’t answering his phone. I’m just letting him have some space right now. I’ll try again later.”

 

“Sounds like a good idea,” Renee agreed. “Has his sleep been getting any better?”

 

“It’s hard to tell. This past week he’s been sleeping like a rock but I think it was more because of exam stress and exhaustion than actual good sleep.”

 

Gene tended to not talk about other people personal problems with anyone other than the person that they belonged to but Gene found that he had broken that rule when it came to Renee. He couldn’t help but confide in someone about his concerns about Babe and Gene knew that Renee could keep a secret. He never got too specific, trying to keep Babe’s personal issues as quiet as possible, but Renee knew the basics. She knew that Babe hadn’t been sleeping well and still suffered from bouts of depression ever since Julian’s passing; things most of the guys on the fifth floor knew just by living in such close confines.

 

“I don’t want to suggest sleeping pills or that he seek counseling, I don’t want to push him, but at the same time…”

 

“You’re concerned for him,” Renee finished easily. “You’re not wrong to be so worried though. It’s justified.”

 

“I’ve talk to Bill and Spina about it and they try to get Babe to talk from time to time but neither of them seem to get much headway with him,” Gene said. “Boy can be stubborn when he wants to be.”

 

“He’ll talk when he’s ready,” Renee stated. “For right now, just make sure he knows that when he’s ready, he can turn to you.”

 

“I do. At least, I think I do.”

 

“I’m sure you do, Gene,” she smiled. “It’s just a waiting game right now.”

 

“I supposed you’re right.”

 

“I know I’m right,” Renee declared cockily. “Now are you going to eat your chocolate cake or are you just going to keep it sitting in front of me because you like to taunt me?”

 

Smiling, Gene pushed the plate across the table.

 

* * *

 

As Merriell stared out the taxi window, he tried to think of how exactly Eugene convinced him to get in a cab so that they could drive an hour out of town and go to the cemetery where his mother was supposedly buried. Shelton told himself he had agreed to it so that he could get Eugene off of his back; he figured it was easier to just let Sledge do his last bit of meddling than argue about it until their plane ride back to campus tomorrow. Merriell told himself repeatedly that that was the reason why he was going through with this so that he wouldn’t have to think about the real reason.

 

He couldn’t help it but damn, did he feel curious when it came to his mother. It was the question that ate at him at the back of his mind his entire life, the question that was never answered, would never be answered now.

 

If he was honest with himself he wasn’t sure who he hated more, his mother or father. His father had a billion reasons for why Merriell hated him; he had more than a couple scars on him that served as physical proof as to why he hated that man so. His mother, however, only had one reason why Merriell hated her but it was stronger than every hit, every belt whip, every red screaming face he ever saw: she had left him behind.

 

Merriell’s mother had escaped the hell of the Shelton household and chose to leave her young son behind in the hands of an abusive, alcoholic bastard. Merriell remembered when he was younger he comforted himself with ideas that maybe she had been kidnapped and hadn’t willingly left him behind. When he got a little older and his father got meaner, he wondered if maybe his father had murdered his mother and buried her under the porch; at eight years old he couldn’t bring himself to look under the porch for a body. By the time he was ten he had fully accepted the awful truth: his mother had abandoned him and she was never going to come back.

 

His mother didn’t want to take him with her when she escaped. She hadn’t loved him enough to free him from that hell. She didn’t send someone for him later like Merriell had hoped she would for a while as a small child. She hadn’t loved him enough. Maybe she hadn’t loved him at all.

 

It hurt. Merriell didn’t want to admit it but it did. It hurt when he was four and it hurt just as badly at eighteen and he wasn’t quite sure why. If he had to guess he thought it might have to do with the fact that he actually had some happy memories of his mother. Merriell didn’t have a single happy memory of his father and he was not lying when he told Eugene that he didn’t give a shit that his dad was braindead and on his way out. His mom, however, they were faint and limited in number but he had happy memories of her.

 

He remembered watching her make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich one sunny day while his father was out; he still remembered how her voice sounded as she hummed some unknown melody to him. He remembered walking through the park with her, his small, warm hand in her large, cool one. He could still see her young face with her pale eyes, surrounded by her long light brown hair as she smiled at him, brushed his curls off his forehead, and said his name, the name she had apparently chosen for him.

 

“Mer,” Eugene said as he tapped Shelton on the shoulder, bringing him back to reality. “We’re here.”

 

Merriell turned to look out of the opposite window and saw the black metal gate that surrounded the outside of the cemetery. He felt something squirm in his stomach but he kept his face neutral as he nodded and got out of the car.

 

They stopped in the main building and Merriell stood to the side while Eugene grabbed a map of the cemetery and located where his mother was buried. Merriell followed Eugene’s lead as they walked back out into the cemetery and chose to focus on the numerous headstones, varying in shapes and sizes and level of deterioration. The grass around all the plots was cut cleanly and there were flowered bushes planted intermittently for extra decoration. It was a nice and clearly well cared for place, much nicer than some of the old, dilapidated cemeteries he saw around town.

 

They walked for five minutes before Eugene double checked the markers on the side of the walkway that marked each section and the plot coordinates he had gotten from the doctor.

 

“She should around here,” Eugene said quietly before he pointed two rows ahead. “I think somewhere in there.”

 

“Whatever you say,” Shelton mumbled. “You’re the one with the map.”

 

Eugene and Merriell split up between the two rows and walked down it while reading the old headstones in search of the one name. Merriell almost reached the end of his row when he saw it, staring up at him out of a slab of dark granite.

 

Henriette Shelton.

 

“Found it,” Shelton announced.

 

Merriell could see Eugene make his way over out of his peripherals but he didn’t look up from the granite, he couldn’t for a moment. All he could do was stare down at the stupid rock, trace her name with his eyes, and take in her date of death carved in at the bottom, August 11, 2004. She had been dead for almost a decade now and he would never know why.

 

“I can give you some time alone if you want,” Eugene offered quietly.

 

“Why? It’s not like she’s gonna answer if I ask why she left without taking me with her,” Merriell responded easily. “It’s a slab of granite, Sledge. I’m not gonna get anything out of it.”

 

There was a thick, heavy silence between them as Merriell stared at the headstone and Eugene stared at Merriell. Eugene was searching for something to say and Merriell was trying to figure out why he hadn’t already turned around and left.

 

“It’s a nice headstone,” Eugene commented.

 

“You know, there needs to be a limit to your southern politeness bullshit and I think you can draw the line at complimenting a dead woman’s headstone.”

 

“No, I mean, it’s nice and expensive looking,” Eugene continued. “Headstones aren’t cheap. A lot of families just have a little marker or something if they can’t afford a headstone. Somebody bought that headstone.”

 

“What are you getting at?”

 

“I’m just thinking, there has to be someone out there who cares about her enough to have bought her this,” Eugene pointed out. “Maybe one of her family members, one of _your_ family members-”

 

“Eugene, I let you drag me back to New Orleans. I let you drag me here. I’m not fucking letting you drag me on some chase to find some far-flung family member who probably doesn’t even know I exist,” Merriell declared. “Again, just because they might be my blood don’t make them my family. Just drop it.”

 

“Sorry,” Eugene apologized.

 

Merriell knew he needed to turn around and leave. He knew he was right; a slab of granite wasn’t going to give him any answers to the numerous questions he had eating at him for years. He would never know what had been the breaking point for her that made her finally leave. He would never know why she had left him there, if there was a legitimate reason why she couldn’t take him with her or if she just didn’t care anymore. He wouldn’t know what caused her untimely death at only twenty-nine years old or why she had never officially divorced his father, seeing as it said ‘Shelton’ on the headstone. He would never know and he needed to accept it and leave.

 

Merriell allowed himself one last moment before he tore his eyes away from the headstone and turned to look at Sledge.

 

“Well… I guess people only get those big dramatic resolutions in the movies, huh,” he said slowly as he grinned softly at Sledge.

 

Eugene took in Shelton’s appearance, searched for blood shot eyes, looked for a quiver in the slack smile on his face, anything that might give away that his friend was genuinely upset. However, no matter how hard Eugene stared, he only saw his friend, looking as normal as he would standing in the middle of the common room as opposed to the cemetery they were in.

 

“Looks like it,” Eugene agreed quietly with a nod, accepting that Merriell was done here.

 

Shelton gave the headstone one last glance before he turned around and walked away with Eugene trailing quietly behind him.

 

* * *

 

As Bob scanned the room from his place against the wall, he tried to remember how exactly he got here.

 

“Sorry that took so long. I got held up by one of your aunts at the punch bowl.”

 

“Don’t be,” Leckie said as he smiled at Vera and accepted the glass of punch. “I’m sorry you got trapped by my aunt.”

 

“She was fine,” Vera said with a wave of her hand before she stood against the wall next to Bob. “Really nice, woman, actually. Said she liked my dress.”

 

“It is a nice dress,” Leckie commented as he glanced down at the red dress Vera wore.

 

“I’m glad I thought to bring it back home from school. I don’t have anything nice at home right now.”

 

“You would have looked fine no matter what you wore,” Bob told her with a smile.

 

If someone had told Leckie a week ago that he would be willingly attending his brother’s engagement party, surrounded by his family, with Vera at his side, he would have said they were nuts.

 

Hours after his mother had offered the invitation to Vera, Leckie decided to bite the bullet and extend the offer to Vera to see what she thought. After some long deliberations where they weighed the pros and cons, it was decided that Vera would attend the party. Earlier today Leckie drove the half an hour to Vera’s to pick her up and after a quick meet and greet with her parents, who both seemed like pleasant and normal people, the two of them headed for his brother’s apartment complex.

 

Leckie’s mother had been cordial enough when she met Vera, as were his siblings; Leckie wasn’t surprised when his father gave her a lukewarm greeting and Vera took it in stride. Soon after Leckie got through introducing Vera to his immediate family, several guests arrived at the party room, saving Vera from any extended time with Leckie’s parents or siblings.

 

Once the party got into full swing, Leckie found a couple of his favorite cousins and introduced them to Vera; Leckie couldn’t help but be unsurprised when they instantly got along with her. Bob knew these few family members to be actually fun and right in the head, how could they not love Vera? Leckie was put into such a good mood that he even managed to have a long and civil conversation with his brother and his new fiancé.

 

It was odd, being surrounded by so many of his family members, people who usually sent his blood pressure through the roof and irritated him to no end, and feeling so relaxed; hell, he would go far enough to say that he felt fucking happy. As he turned to look at the beautiful, smart, funny young woman at his side, Leckie was sure he knew the reason why such a strange occurrence was possible.

 

Vera seemed to be able to carry a polite conversation with whichever family member stumbled into them, no matter how bland and boring. She gave him the energy boost he needed whenever he talked to a particularly draining family member and even made him laugh afterwards. Leckie didn’t know what he had done to deserve someone as wonderful as her in his life.

 

Leckie reached out and gripped one of Vera’s hands in his own; Vera looked up at him in response

 

“Thank you,” Leckie said. “For agreeing to come here and help me deal with my family. I don’t know if I could have done this without you.”

 

“Bob, you don’t need to thank me,” Vera said softly. “I’m glad I could come. I’m actually having a pretty good time.”

 

It had been about a year since Bob confirmed Pacific Coast’s offer of acceptance and it had been six months since he first achieved his goal of escaping the Leckie household. Leckie spent the last decade of his life thinking that the only way to survive his family was to flee from it but now that he was here, surrounded by so much family and feeling better than he had in months, Leckie realized that there was another way.

 

“How are you holding up?” Vera asked as she gave Bob’s hand a squeeze.

 

“Best I’ve ever been.”

 

* * *

 

Babe spent the majority of the day by himself as he wandered across the campus, trapped in his thoughts. He stayed as far away from the Quad as possible, choosing to walk on the less populous perimeter of campus. Sometime around noon he attempted to call his own mother but found he couldn’t quite find the strength to go through with it. Babe knew that a mother’s words had the power to heal but what would she say now that couldn’t be said by Bill or Spina or Gene? Babe was sure that his mother already had her hands full with helping Julian’s poor mother through her own grief and decided to call her later. Eventually Babe made his way back to Hanks House where he found Bill and Spina in similar lost states. None of them seemed to know what to do or say and they all felt like failures for it.

 

“We should do something,” Spina muttered for the fifth time that day as he sat on the floor of Bill’s dorm room.

 

“Like what?” Bill growled in irritation while he chain smoked through his pack of cigarettes

 

“I don’t know,” Ralph shrugged. “Just anything besides sitting here.”

 

“What a couple of jackasses we are,” Bill commented. “We should have thought of something. Julian would have thought of something if it were one of us. We should get some of the guys together and have a memorial or something.”

 

“That’s better than nothing,” Spina nodded before he got to his feet.

 

Spina and Bill went off to rally the troops but Babe couldn’t; he still wasn’t ready to be around too many people. He knew he would hang out with the guys in a bit, give a toast to Julian with Bill and Spina when the time came, but right now, he was going to take his last few minutes by himself.

 

It was a little cold and unusually dreary out that day so the roof was empty when Babe arrived. Babe walked to the edge of the roof and leaned over the perimeter wall as he looked at the campus stretched out in front of him. It was peaceful.

 

The quiet was soon interrupted by the tell-tale screeching of the metal door opening up. Babe knew it was only a matter of time before someone tracked him down and dragged him down to the party but when he turned around to see who it was, he was surprised at who he found.

 

“Mind if I join you?” Renee asked as she hooved near the door, ready to turn around and leave if Babe asked her to.

 

“No,” Babe answered as he gestured to the space next to him. “Go ahead.”

 

“How are you?” she asked politely as she stopped in the space next to him and took in the view.

 

“I get the feeling you already know how I am,” Babe said slowly.

 

“Guilty,” she admitted softly. “I talked to Eugene earlier today.”

 

“And what did he say?”

 

“He said that today is your friend’s birthday,” she answered before she turned to look at Babe with sympathy in her eyes. “Edward, I’m so sorry, really.”

 

“Thanks,” Babe mumbled while he tried not to get riled up over her use of his birth name; Renee never seemed to want to use his nickname and Babe had recently decided to give her a pass on his rule.

 

“Eugene’s worried about you.”

 

“I know,” he acknowledged; he knew that plenty of people were worried about him.

 

“He wishes you would talk to him.”

 

“And I wish I could talk to him about it,” Babe admitted. “But I can’t.”

 

“Why can’t you?”

 

“I don’t know,” he muttered, feeling frustrated. “I can’t seem to talk to anyone about it. Not Bill or Spina, not my mom, not Gene…”

 

“You need to talk to someone about these things,” Renee said as gently as possible. “You can’t keep bottling it all up.”

 

“I know but-!” Babe cut himself off as his voice began to rise; Renee didn’t do anything to deserve his anger. “Sorry.”

 

“It’s okay. You’re allowed to be angry.”

 

“I don’t want to be angry,” Babe sighed as he deflated against the wall. “I want…I want to talk to Julian.” Babe felt his eyes well up with tears again but he didn’t try to fight them or hide them. “I really miss him.”

 

“I can understand that,” Renee said quietly. “Losing someone that close is hard.”

 

“Who… did you lose someone?” Babe asked as he wiped at his eyes.

 

“My mom,” Renee answered. “When I was nine.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s okay. I’ve had time to grieve,” she said with a small smile. “My mom was sick for a while so it wasn’t a huge shock but it still hurt. Still hurts today sometimes.”

 

“I doubt that sort of pain ever goes away,” Babe commented.

 

“It does and it doesn’t,” she said cryptically. “It gets better. The pain dulls some with time, you make more and more happy memories to help numb it some more, but it’s always going to be there. There’s always going to be that one moment where they’re the only person in the world who you want to talk to or be with and all the progress you’ve made just shatters for a moment because you can’t.”

 

“What do you do when that happens?”

 

“I talk to her anyways,” Rene answered with a smile. “I go somewhere quiet and I talk to her. I’ll tell her about my day, tell her about my friends, tell her I miss her.”

 

“And that works?” Babe asked skeptically. “I don’t know; that seems kinda silly to just talk to the air.”

 

“A lot of the times after I talk to her I’ll usually talk to my dad or someone who knew her. That usually helps a lot too,” Renee added. “It helps too if I have something that connects me to her.” Renee paused to pull out a small silver cross from under her sweater. “This was hers. It helps me when I’m away from home and all those things that remind me of her.”

 

“Do you think it’d help if I did something like that?” Babe asked.

 

“It might. It’s worth a shot but really, there’s no formula for grieving,” Renee answered. “It’ll take some time but eventually you’ll find the thing that helps you. Until then, I suggest you try talking to the people closest to you. Don’t bottle up your feelings, even if it seems easier to do so. You’re lucky, Edward. You have a lot of people in your life who are there and ready to listen. Take advantage of it.”

 

* * *

 

 

Shelton got the call from the hospital as they drove back to his father’s house that his father had passed away. He took the news without even batting an eyelash and Eugene didn’t fight with him on it; he recognized now that Merriell’s father really was a piece of shit and didn’t deserve any more of his time.

 

Once back at Shelton’s place, Eugene ordered another pizza while Merriell dug in the refrigerator for drinks; there was a plethora of beers and several different kinds of alcohol. Merriell immediately grabbed a bottle of some of the hard stuff while Eugene just grabbed a beer; he was still hadn’t fully recovered when it came to alcohol and he doubted if he would ever drink that much ever again.

 

After the pizza came, the two of them settled down in front of the barely functioning television set and flicked through the couple of channels they had at their disposal before they settled on a rerun of some shitty sitcom. In the back of his mind, Eugene thought that maybe now would be a decent time to bring Friday night up. He didn’t want to, he wished that they could just pretend that it had never happened, but he knew this wasn’t something that they could just blow off forever. He had a feeling if they didn’t talk about it now it would come back to bite them both in the ass later.

 

“Well, this is it, Sledge,” Merriell declared as he held the bottle aloft as if he was about to make a toast.

 

“This is what, exactly?” Eugene asked from where he sat on the floor, beer in one hand with a cooling slice of cheap pizza in the other.

 

“This is the last damn time I am ever going to step foot in this godawful place,” Shelton declared before he brought the bottle to his lips and drank from it. “Good fucking riddance.”

 

Eugene knew he should say something but instead he brought the beer to his mouth and drank from it, even though it tasted disgusting. He was pathetic. He only seemed to be able to get the words out when he had liquid courage running through his veins.

 

Unbeknownst to Eugene, Merriell was struggling with a similar line of thought.

 

 _He needs to know, idiot_ , Merriell told himself as he chowed down on his third piece of pizza. _He had the balls to tell you how he felt, you need to tell him why you were such a pussy and couldn’t talk to him for weeks._

 

Even through the chaos of the last two days, Friday night still stood in vivid detail for Merriell. He could still remember every slurred and angry word Eugene had hurled at him without restraint. Merriell knew that all that hurt and anger was still inside Eugene, just under the surface; that kind of shit wasn’t something you just dropped and forgot forever. Merriell still needed to explain himself and tell Eugene why he had ignored him for weeks on end. He needed Eugene to know that the feelings he claimed to have for Shelton were mutual.

 

 _Don’t know how though_ , Merriell thought as he took another swig from the bottle, wincing when the alcohol burned on its way down. _I always figured the kid would have some standards._

 

Eugene needed to know. He had been able to put off talking about this because of his family bullshit but now, now there was nothing keeping Shelton from talking. Eugene deserved to know the truth.

 

 _Just fucking do it_ , he though as he brought the bottle to his lips and took another, large drink. _Just open you fat mouth and say something_

 

“Man, I hate this fucking place,” Merriell spoke up with a minor slur in his voice as gestured around the room with his almost empty liquor bottle. He mentally cursed himself his choice of conversation topic but it was already too late; the alcohol already had a greater effect on his mind than he thought. “All of it. I just want trash all of his stupid shit.”

 

“So why don’t you,” Eugene asked after a pause, face already pink from the one beer he had downed.

 

“What?”

 

“Why don’t you trash all of it?” Eugene repeated as he turned to look at Merriell. “Everything in here is gonna get thrown out anyways, right? Why not break it all before it gets thrown out? It’d probably make you feel better.”

 

Merriell looked at Eugene for a long moment while he tried to accept that such a crazy suggestion had come out of someone he thought was so sane and level headed. Eventually the words clicked in Merriell’s alcohol muddled brain and he felt a wide grin pull at his face.

 

“Eugene, that’s the best idea I’ve ever heard.”

 

They made quick work of the living room, pulling the cushions off of the couch and ripping them open so that the stuffing came out, upturning the old coffee table, tearing the tacky decorations from the nicotine stained walls, and knocking the ancient television to the ground, before they continued their path of destruction to the other rooms in the house. Eugene cleared the dining room table of its several years of clutter while Merriell took particular pleasure in smashing all the dusty, tacky trinkets that had once belonged to his mother that his father, for whatever reason, left in the decoration case. Eugene tossed the balled up table cloth at Merriell’s head with amazing accuracy and laughed at Shelton’s startled expression. Merriell retaliated by tossing several balled up newspapers at him before he fled into the kitchen, which already looked as if someone had ransacked it. As Eugene entered the kitchen, Snafu quickly pulled the extendable hose from the kitchen sink and sprayed his unsuspecting friend in the face.

 

“What the fuck, Mer?” Eugene sputtered before he hid behind the refrigerator door.

 

“There ain’t no rules here, Sledgehammer,” Merriell grinned as Eugene glared at him from over the top of the refrigerator door. “Gotta be on your toes.”

 

“Oh yeah?” Eugene asked mischievously.

 

“Yeah,” he challenged him.

 

Next thing Merriell knew he was ducking as an old take-out container of food came hurtling towards him.

 

“What the fuck?”

 

“Gotta be on your toes, Mer,” Eugene teased before he ran out of the kitchen and down the hall.

 

“You in trouble now, boy!” Shelton shouted as he ran after him; the only response he got was a loud, full bodied laugh that rang through the house.

 

Soon Merriell’s father’s bedroom and then hallway fell to their path of destruction and before they knew it they found themselves back in the destroyed living room. Merriell picked up a broken leg from the coffee table and used it as a make-shift bat as he tried to hit old beer cans across the room. Eugene laughed at him when he missed horribly; Merriell retaliated by throwing the crumpled beer can at Eugene instead.

 

It was amazing. It was fucking crazy. He could barely believe that this was happening; not only was he destroying every remaining memory of his father but he was doing it with a smile on his face and with Eugene at his side. Merriell didn’t know if he could have ever thought of something like this in his wildest of dreams.

 

Laughing and grinning from ear to ear, feeling so fucking happy for once, probably the only time he had ever felt this good in this horrible place, Merriell paused in the middle of his destruction and turned to look at Eugene. He watched for a moment as Eugene kicked an empty liquor bottle clear across the room, which caused it to smash against the opposite wall. Merriell glanced around the devastated room, looked at all the smashed bottled, the torn up couch, the ancient television that he had put his foot through, it was insane.

 

He loved it.

 

“What?” Eugene asked as he turned around to look at him, his wide smile dropping slowly, perhaps thinking he did something wrong. “Why’d you stop?”

 

And he loved Eugene. This was so much more than a dumb crush that would disappear in time. It was the real thing

 

Before he could properly think it through, Merriell stepped over a pile of debris, gripped the back of Eugene’s neck with a firm hand, and all but smashed his mouth against Eugene’s. There was a moment, one intense, desperately horrible moment, where Merriell expected Eugene to shove him away, to reject him in the destroyed remains of his childhood house. Merriell felt Eugene fist the front of his shirt and expected a shove, maybe a fist to his face but instead Eugene tightened his grip on his shirt and brought him somehow closer.

 

It took all of Merriell’s self-control to pull away from Eugene but it needed to be done. Merriell forced himself away from Eugene but kept their faces only an inch or two apart.

 

“Mer… what are you doing?” Eugene asked quietly, eyes filled with hope but also so much apprehension.

 

“I like you,” Merriell declared; he ignored the fact that he said ‘like’ and not ‘love’ for now, he was just proud of himself for finally get the words out.

 

“What?” Eugene asked in disbelief.

 

“The reason why I stopped talking to you was because I realized after the hospital that I had a crush on you and I thought that if I just spent less time with you, it would go away.”

 

“Why did you want it to go away?” Eugene asked as he moved a little further away from him, looking confused.

 

“I never thought in a million years that a guy like you would ever think about a guy like me that way,” Merriell admitted quietly after a pause. “I wanted us to just be friends because I thought that’s what you wanted.”

 

“You thought that ignoring me for weeks would keep us as friends?” Eugene asked slowly.

 

“I never said it was a smart idea,” Merriell muttered. “And I’m sorry, by the way, for ignoring you for so long.” Shelton leaned forward slightly so that his forehead rested against Eugene’s. He thought about the words he was going to say next and winced; he felt so fucking juvenile. “So… do you still …?”

 

“What? _Like you_?” Eugene asked, causing Shelton to blush slightly; he felt like a fucking twelve-year-old, this was ridiculous.

 

“Yeah. Do you? Or are you still so pissed off at me that you don’t anymore? I wouldn’t blame you if you-”

 

Merriell’s next words were cut off when Eugene surged forwards and pressed his mouth back against Shelton’s. Eugene’s hands moved from the front of Merriell’s t-shirt to the back of his neck, bringing them closer again.

 

“Just don’t do it again,” Eugene warned as he moved away from Merriell again.

 

“I won’t.”

 

“Good,” Eugene smiled before he leaned forward again and kissed him.

 

Feeling emboldened from the kiss and the alcohol running through his body, Merriell began leading Eugene backwards out of the living room and down the hallway. There was some stumbling and they bumped into walls and scattered debris but eventually they made it down the hall to Merriell’s old room. Merriell kept leading him until Eugene’s legs hit the side of Shelton’s old bed. Eugene pulled back, put a gentle hand on Merriell’s thin chest when he tried to kiss him again, and pulled him down onto the bed with him. Once they were situated Merriell kissed him again.

 

Eugene felt Merriell smile as he kissed him and he was sure his heart was going to leap out of his chest. Eugene reached up and rested a hand in Merriell’s thick curls; for whatever odd reason he had wanted to touch his curls for a while. Merriell slid the hand on Eugene’s hip up higher until he landed at his ribs. Eugene shuddered involuntarily when Merriell began rubbing tiny circles into his skin with his thumb; Merriell let out a snort and Eugene felt his already flushed face get hotter. He didn’t have much, or really _any_ , experience with this kind of thing so everything was new and he didn’t know how he would react to certain things. He had been worried that his complete lack of experience would be a hindrance but Merriell, bless the guy, was patient and didn’t tease Eugene when their teeth knocked together or some other body part wasn’t where it was supposed to be.

 

It was amazing. Eugene had never felt this good in his entire life, not even in his wildest dream; truthfully Eugene expected to wake up any moment back in his dorm room bed because how could this actually be happening?

 

Merriell couldn’t believe what was happening either.

 

He pulled away from Eugene, not more than a couple inches, just enough to get a good look at him. Merriell took in his swollen mouth, his flushed face, and messy hair; it was something Merriell thought about, pictured in his deepest dreams, but it was a sight he never thought he would ever get a chance to see.

 

“What?” Eugene asked softly, looking uncertain. “Are you… are you good?”

 

“Yeah, Eugene, I’m good,” Merriell grinned as he rested his forehead against Eugene’s; he was so much better than just good. “Are you good?”

 

“I’m great, Mer,” Eugene answered firmly, causing Merriell to, if possible, smile even wider.

 

Merriell kissed him again, slower and gentler this time. Eugene’s entire body felt warm and relaxed. He didn’t want this to stop but he couldn’t help it when a loud yawn escaped his mouth, signaling how exhausted he actually was.

 

“Sorry,” Eugene apologized; he didn’t want Merriell to think that he found this boring.

 

“It’s all good, Eugene. It _is_ past your bedtime, isn’t it,” he teased as he lifted himself up on an elbow and grinned down at him.

 

“It’s been a long day,” Eugene reminded him.

 

“Yeah, you can say that again,” he agreed while he tried to think about everything that had happened within a span of one day. “Maybe we should call it a night,” he suggested before he added with a wink, “We can pick this back up in the morning.”

 

“Sounds good to me, Mer,” Eugene smiled.

 

Together they kicked off their shoes and their jeans and crawled under the musty covers on Merriell’s bed. It took a couple of awkward moments to comfortably position the two young men in the small bed but eventually they succeeded.

 

“You gonna be here when I wake up?” Eugene asked quietly after a moment of silence.

 

“I promise,” Merriell assured him. “I’m sorry. That I left you there.”

 

“It’s okay,” Eugene forgave him before he moved closer to him.

 

Eugene fell asleep almost instantly and Merriell could feel himself following after him but for a few minutes he fought it; he wanted to remember this moment, here and now. With Eugene curled against his side, face pressed against his chest, the house in ruins, and with all of his ties to this awful place gone, Merriell knew he had never been happier in his entire life. Merriell knew that this long, painful chapter of his life was finally finished. A new chapter was about to begin and he was sure that without Eugene at his side, helping him through the last few months, Merriell probably would have never been able to put a definitive end to all of this.

 

Merriell stopped fighting the heavy feeling his felt throughout his entire body and quickly fell into the deepest, most restful sleep of his life so far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been waiting so long for Sledgefu. Why did i decide to put it off for so long?
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this early-ish update because tbh I have no idea when I'll be able to update chapter 18. I'm sorry but I'm just gonna warn you now that it might be a while.
> 
> Also, if you haven't seen, I wrote a sidefic of joe and web's date so you should go check that out because I think it's super cute.
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What started out as fun and games somehow morphed into a war

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, first off, I'm so incredibly sorry for the wait on this but this past semester I decided to actually and focus on my grades and school for once instead of writing so I only wrote like, a page or two of this fic over like 3 months and then wrote basically all of this over the past 3 weeks of winter break. So I also apologize if this isn't the best written chapter, I wrote it frantically and I barely edited it because if i didn't post this now I wouldn't have a chance to post this until like, Monday night so I'll probably go back through and reedit then. Until then, sorry if there are any major typos
> 
> (and if anyone cares, I totally kicked ass this semester, almost got straight A's and I got into my dream study abroad program where I'm going to be spending three weeks in Europe, traveling to different WWII historical sites)
> 
> Again, super sorry for the wait on this. I hope it was worth it

* * *

_“Somebody is gonna fuckin’ die!”_

 

The relative calm of a Monday afternoon on the fifth floor of Hanks House was brought to a temporary halt as Joe Toye burst out of the bathroom and into the hallway, dressed in only a towel wrapped around his waist.

 

“What the fuck’s your problem, Joe,” Bill asked as he smirked at his wet and almost naked friend. “Someone take you special loofah or something?”

 

“Some fucking asshole but fucking bouillon cubes in the goddamn shower head!” Joe yelled, causing Bill to laugh.

 

“Ya serious?” Bill laughed. “Oh man, that’s a good one.”

 

“Quit fucking laughing, Gonorrhea, I smell like a damn cup of _top ramen!”_

 

“Just go wash it off, Christ, it ain’t that big of a deal, Joe,” Bill said. “But make sure you double check the shower head before you go into a new stall, there may be Alka-Seltzer in the others!”

 

Unbeknownst to Joe and Bill, a couple doors down the hall from them, two of their floor mates were eavesdropping on the incident while they snickered like a couple of guilty school children.

 

“You two keep this up and you are gonna be dead by the end of the week,” Penkala declared as he stared at his computer screen.

 

“Cool, then I won’t have to take that math exam,” Skip commented as he continued to covertly watch the scene down the hall unfold.

 

“Joe should know better by now,” Malarkey said as he tried his best to watch Joe rave through the crack in the doorjamb. “Any guy on this floor with half a brain should know to check the showerheads before they use them.”

 

No matter how much Alex wanted to disagree with the two, he couldn’t help but acknowledge that they had a point; everyone on the fifth floor should probably know better by now to double check everything for some sort of booby-trap. In the past few weeks, Hanks House had become something of a warzone; the prank war that had started off with just a few people active members had expanded into almost every corner of the dorm. Lately, it had become common practice to double-check the showerheads, personal shampoos and lotions, and unattended food items for contamination. Almost no one dared to leave personal items unattended for fear that someone might change a shortcut on a cell phone or create an obnoxious and inappropriate alarm to go off in the middle of a crowded lecture hall.

 

Most of the dorm saw the “war” as a fun way to let go of some stress and were happy to put mayo in a friend’s lotion or partake in a classic like putting shaving cream in the palm of an unconscious victim but a handful of people made it clear as often as possible that they were not going to be a part of something so childish.

 

_“Somebody is gonna fucking die!”_

 

“Should I be concerned?” Dick asked as he turned away from his computer screen and looked at Harry and Nixon, who stood in the doorway of Harry and Dick’s room as they watched something unfold down the hall.

 

“Someone pranked Toye,” Harry answered calmly with his eyes still trained down the hall. “Doesn’t look too serious though. I think you’re good.”

 

“Old bouillon cubes in the shower head. Classic,” Nixon chuckled before he took a swig out of his flask.

 

“Well at least someone’s getting a laugh out of this,” Dick commented grumpily.

 

“Aww, come on, Dick. Live a little,” Lew said as he turned to face his boyfriend. “Let the kids have some fun. They need a stress reliever.”

 

“Yeah well all the stress they’re letting lose is going straight to me,” Dick reminded him. “One of these days, they’re gonna go too far and someone’s gonna get hurt or something is gonna break and guess who is gonna have to fill out all that paperwork?”

 

“Wow, your biggest concern is how much paperwork you’ll have to do?” Harry asked as his eyebrows escaped into his hairline. “And I thought Nix was the indifferent parent in this relationship.”

 

“Yeah, way to show some real concern for your children, Dick,” Lewis teased as he grinned at Dick.

 

Lewis couldn’t help but laugh harder when he saw Dick send him a look that was dryer than the Sahara Desert; if there was anything Lew loved more than Dick Winters himself it was seeing Dick Winters exasperated beyond belief.

 

* * *

 

 

As Merriell pushed open the door to room 506, he couldn’t help but smile, despite the fact that he held his math textbook, several pages of notes, and practice exams under one of his arms.

 

“Hey,” Merriell said as he entered the room.

 

“Hey yourself,” Eugene greeted him pleasantly from where he sat at his desk. “You ready?”

 

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Merriell responded as he sat on the edge of Eugene’s bed. “We studying here?”

 

“Yeah, Sid’s not gonna be back for another hour at least,” Eugene answered.

 

“Oh really?” Merriell smirked. “Because I can think of a couple other things we could do while we have the room for an hour.”

 

Eugene smiled slightly but he shook his head; ever determined to put Merriell’s school work before anything else.

 

“In your dreams, Mer,” Eugene declined before he picked up his own notes from off of his desk and sat down on the floor in front of his bed. Eugene patted the space on the floor next to him, signaling Merriell to join him there; sighing, Merriell joined Eugene on the floor.

 

“Okay, so, I think we should review chapter twelve first before we try any of those practice quizzes, just so I know you know what you’re doing…”

 

Merriell kept his eyes glued on Eugene as he talked about important equations or something but his mind had already tuned out; he had enough trouble paying attention and staying focus during their tutoring sessions before but now, after everything that had happened, it was almost impossible for Merriell.

 

Merriell remembered how he felt when he woke up that Sunday morning in his old bedroom back home, with Eugene squeezed onto the twin bed next to him. He couldn’t look away from Eugene then, who looked so peaceful and content. Merriell had spent his entire life trying to spend as little time in that awful house as possible but in that moment, Merriell was okay with being confined to the the house for years if it meant that Eugene would be there with him.

 

The plane ride back had been a little less stressful, now that Eugene was there to hold his hand under the arm rest when needed and take his mind off of the mild turbulence by teasing him. Merriell was so relieved to get off of the plane it wasn’t until they were in the taxi, half way back to campus that it really hit him that this was real. Eugene and him weren’t just something that happened on a weekend away from the others that would disappear once they got back into the everyday mayhem of Hanks House. It was real and it was going to stay. In the back of Merriell’s mind, he knew that not a single person in that dorm would give a shit that he and Eugene were together but that didn’t stop the few moments he spent telling himself that if anyone had an issue with them he would just cut out of his life without a second thought.

 

They didn’t explicitly tell anyone what had happened when they got back, well, Eugene told Sidney but that was to be expected and Sidney wasn’t a gossip. Neither Merriell and Eugene felt the need to go around and shout the news, they figured it was easiest and best if everyone found out on their own time; within twenty-four hours of their return the entire dorm knew.

 

Eugene and Merriell were in the downstairs laundry room Monday morning when the bomb was dropped. Eugene was busy doing laundry while Merriell kept him company, perched on one of the many washers while he smoked, despite the faded ‘no smoking’ sign that hung on the opposite laundry room wall.

 

_“You’re gonna set the smoke alarm off,” Eugene informed him while he sorted through his laundry._

_“Maybe if you weren’t taking so long, I wouldn’t have started smoking in here,” Merriell countered as he leaned back against the wall._

_“No one’s making you stay,” Eugene reminded him as he turned to look at Merriell. “You could go outside and smoke. I’ll still be here by the time you finish that.”_

_Instead of leaving, Merriell tapped the excess ash onto the concrete floor and moved closer to Eugene._

_“Why’re you taking so long anyways? Most guys just shove their laundry bag into a washer, dump some soap in there, and leave it. Yet here you are, sorting your colors from your whites. The only person in this dorm who’s as crazy about their laundry is fucking Colbert.”_

_“This is how I was taught how to do laundry, so it’s how I do it,” Eugene explained, not breaking his stride._

_“Mama Sledge would be so proud.”_

_As predicted, Merriell finished his cigarette before Eugene finished organizing his laundry. However, once he pitched the cigarette bud into the nearby washtub, Merriell just pulled out a second cigarette and lit it, which earned an exasperated look from Eugene._

_“What?” Merriell grinned._

_“Dick_ just _had a floor meeting a couple days ago about not setting off the alarms anymore,” Eugene reminded him. “If you set it off, he’s gonna have to write you up.”_

_“He’s only gonna find out if you rat me out,” Merriell pointed out as he leaned closer to Eugene with a lazy smirk on his face. “You gonna rat me out, Sledgehammer?”_

_Eugene sighed before he plucked the cigarette out of Merriell’s hands and put it between his own lips; Merriell’s expression was an odd combination of outrage and amusement._

_“I might rat you out if you get cigarette ash on my clothes,” Eugene warned through a small cloud of smoke before he took another drag._

_“Look whose gonna set off the alarm now,” Merriell smirked._

_“Am not,” Eugene denied before he placed the cigarette in the corner of Merriell’s mouth. “I’m just trying to get rid of this quicker.”_

_“Whatever you gotta tell yourself, Eugene,” Merriell said as he adjusted the cigarette in his mouth._

_By the time the second cigarette was finished, Eugene had finally finished his long process with the laundry and was shutting the washer doors._

_“Didn’t even set off the alarms once,” Merriell declared as he flicked the cigarette into the nearby trashcan with perfect aim._

_“And are you expecting some sort of award for that?” Eugene asked as he picked the empty laundry basket off of the floor and set it on top of the washer._

_“Mmm, maybe,” he shrugged before he grabbed the sleeve of Eugene’s sweatshirt and tugged him into the space between his legs. “Are you offering something?”_

_“You wish, Mer,” Eugene said as Shelton moved his face closer to Eugene’s; truthfully Eugene would have loved to have tipped his head up slightly and cross the last inch that separated them but he also loved to watch Merriell pout._

_“Don’t I get something for keeping you company?” Merriell tried as he leaned closer so that his forehead touched Eugene’s._

_“Are you fucking kidding me?”_

_Merriell and Eugene turned to look at the doorway and found Burgin, Bill Leyden, and Jay staring at them. Burgie and Jay looked smug while Bill looked nine kinds of annoyed._

_“Fuck,” Bill hissed. “Now I owe Babe fucking twenty bucks. I ain’t got that kind of money.”_

_“Ha! Martin owes me fifteen!” Jay exclaimed gleefully before turned around and headed towards the packed common room._

_Bill turned and followed after Jay, grumbling and cursing under his breath as he went._

_“Did you fucking bet on us too, Burgie?” Merriell asked, sounding slightly irritated._

_“Thought about it,” Burgie answered as he walked toward one of the empty washers and set his laundry basket on top of it. “Maybe I should have; could have made a pretty penny off of you idiots.”_

_“Did everyone make bets on us?” Eugene asked._

_“Well, not everyone, but yeah, a fair amount did.”_

_“What the fuck,” Shelton grumbled._

_“Could you blame them? You guys were the biggest case of ‘will-they-won’t-they’ this dorms ever seen.”_

_“We ain’t nothing but a daytime soap opera to these guys,” Shelton complained. “Burgie, you’re good people for not making a bet.”_

_“Yeah well, even if I didn’t gain any money from it, I am glad you two finally pulled your heads out of your asses and finally got together,” Burgie said. “If I had to deal with one more week of you two moping about I was gonna lose my fucking mind.”_

_“Nice to know you care.”_

 

After the initial shock passed throughout the dorm and everyone scrambled to settle their bets, no one seemed to care. Sure, they would occasionally earn some teasing from some of the guys but that was to be expected; anyone who was in a relationship in the dorm received their fair share of harmless teasing. Truthfully, it all felt a little weird to Merriell. For the most part, things felt as normal as they had been a few months ago. Eugene and Merriell spent most of their time together, watching television, eating together, and occasionally studying, the only thing that changed between them was the fact that previously awkward bumps and brushes felt comforting now and often led to an impromptu make out session.

 

It was amazing. It was everything he had ever wanted.

 

Despite how nice and easy everything felt with Eugene, Merriell couldn’t help but wonder if there was supposed to be something more. Was it odd that there was almost no change in their relationship now compared to how it had been? Should they be more romantic or something? Merriell had never been in an actual relationship before so he didn’t know how these things tended to work out but in the back of his mind he didn’t think it was supposed to be this simple.

 

“Mer, are you even paying attention to what I’m saying or am I just talking to myself here?” Eugene asked, breaking Merriell out of his thoughts.

 

“Sorry,” Merriell apologized before he leaned closer to Eugene with a jaunty smile on his face. “It’s just so hard to focus on anything else when you’re next to me. Maybe we should just forget about this math and do something else.”

 

“Settle down, Mer,” Eugene sighed while his face grew steadily pinker. “We need to focus on improving your math skills.”

 

“What are you talking about? I’m great at math,” Merriell said as he moved so that he was face to face with Eugene. “Check this out: how about we subtract these notes, add a bed, and we multiply the amount of fun we’re having.”

 

Merriell continued to grin while he watched Eugene roll his eyes and sigh at his horribly cheesy comment. After a moment of waiting, Eugene pushed his notes off of his lap and kissed Merriell, catching him slightly off guard.

 

“Five minutes,” Eugene instructed firmly as he pulled away from him. “And then back to studying.”

 

“Whatever you say, tutor.”

 

As Eugene ran his fingers through his hair and Merriell worked on pulling Eugene’s t-shirt out of his jeans, Merriell thought that if this was what every tutoring session would turn into now, maybe he would be willing to up his number of tutoring sessions.

 

“Whoa. _Whoops_.”

 

Eugene jumped away from Merriell as if Merriell had suddenly combusted. He frantically attempted to smooth down his ruffled hair and straighten his hiked-up shirt but the damage was done.

 

“Um, sorry,” Sidney apologized, his face almost as pink as his best friend’s. “Guess I should have knocked.”

 

“We were just um, studying,” Eugene stuttered as he re-tucked his shirt into his jeans.

 

“Anatomy?” Sidney teased, now over the shock of walking in on his best friend.

 

“Do you need something, Phillips?” Merriell asked grumpily while he made no attempt to straighten his rumpled appearance. “Or are you feeling to stay and watch? I know some people are into that shit but I wouldn’t have pegged you as one of those people.”

 

“Simmer down, Shelton, I just forgot to grab one of my books,” Sidney explained before he cross the room to his desk.

 

Once Sidney found his desired book he turned around and grinned down gleefully at Eugene and Merriell.

 

“A bit of advice, you might wanna put a sock on the doorknob next time you’re ‘studying’; just in case you don’t want a repeat of this event.”

 

“Maybe you could follow your own advice because I’ve walked in on your doing much worse,” Eugene countered, face still flushed.

 

“Touché,” Sidney nodded before he backed away towards the door. “Oh and in case you need it, condoms are in the back of my bottom left desk drawer.”

 

Sidney laughed loudly as he ducked out of the way of the notebook Eugene chucked at his head.

 

“Well, I’ll let you continued on with your ‘studying’. Let me know if you’re still busy in an hour!”

 

* * *

 

 

After weeks of almost constant chaos and noise, Lipton managed to somehow find an entire hour where the fifth floor was relatively quiet; it was an honest to God miracle.

 

_Thump, thump, thump, thump, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP_

 

Carwood listened to the sound of quickly approaching footsteps and knew within an instant that whatever calm he had managed to enjoy was about to be brought to a swift end.

 

“Lip!” Luz exclaimed as he appeared in his doorway, slightly out of breath. “Sorry about this.”

 

Before Lipton could even ask what was going on, George was already frantically crawling quickly underneath Lipton’s dorm bed.

 

“George, what-?”

 

“Please, Lip, just do me this solid and if Perco comes in here looking for me, tell him I am not fucking here,” Luz said as he looked up Lipton from where he laid on the floor.

 

“What did you do?” Lipton asked tiredly as he turned in his desk chair to face his friend.

 

“Lip, please, just let me stay here for an hour, two tops, okay?” George pleaded. “Won’t even know I’m here.”

 

“George, get out from under my bed,” Lip said firmly. “Whatever Frank is going to do to you, frankly, I get the feeling you deserved it.”

 

“I didn’t do _shit_ to Perc. Me and him have a truce,” Luz persisted, still hidden firmly under the bed. “But he’s gonna _think_ I did some shit to his favorite cologne because lately he’s been hiding a lot of his shit and I’m probably the only person who knows where it’s hidden just because I live with the guy.”

 

“Well why don’t just _tell_ Frank that?” Carwood asked. “Franks a relatively reasonable guy, I’m sure he’d understand.”

 

“Well…” Luz started with a grimace as he edged slightly out from under the bed.

 

“George. What did you do?” Lipton repeated in what the guys had dubbed his ‘mom voice’.

 

“I _may_ have hinted the location of some of his shit to some of the guys so…”

 

“So then you actually _did_ do something,” Lip said slowly, feeling irritated.

 

“Sure if you wanna get all technical about it.”

 

In the beginning, Lipton found the pranks in good fun but after the pranks bled into their third week and it became impossible to get any work done in the dorm and someone rigged a glitter bomb to go off in his room, he found his patience with the whole ordeal a little thin.

 

“George, get out from under my bed and face your punishment like a man.”

 

“I have never claimed to be a man but for you, Lip, I’ll give it a try,” Luz said before he crawled out from under Lip’s bed. “But, if Perc ends up doing some grievous damage to me-”

 

“I’ll sleep just fine at night because I know it was justified,” Lipton finished.

 

“Fine,” Luz declared as he walked toward the door. “But,” he said as he paused dramatically in the doorway, “if this is the last time I see you, Lip, I just want you to know that it’s been a pleasure being friends with you.”

 

“Luz, if you aren’t out of my room in the next ten seconds, I’m gonna go tell Harry that it was you who took his phone and switched Kitty’s and his mom’s contact info.”

 

“You are one cold blooded motherfucker, Lip,” Luz said as he stepped out into the hall. “That boyfriend of yours is rubbing off on you.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Okay so there’s one more matter we have to talk about before we can leave,” Dick informed Lena, Andy, and Brad. Today they had met for their monthly R.A. meeting and after over an hour it was almost finished. “R.A. applications for next year are due in a week. Has anyone gotten any yet?”

 

“Do you honestly believe that any of the residents in this dorm are capable of the position of resident advisor?” Brad asked flatly. “We’ve had more disciplinary action in this dorm than all the other put together.”

 

“That’s unfair, Brad,” Lena chided. “There are some people in this dorm who I think would be completely capable.”

 

“Just because we have a couple trouble makers doesn’t mean everyone in the dorm is,” Andy added. “I believe there are a couple people in this dorm who are superior to R.A. applicants from the other dorms.”

 

“I bet that the people in this dorm know the proper execution of the disciplinary process than any other applicants this year,” Brad conceded.

 

“Okay, well, regardless if you think the residents in this dorm are up to par to be future resident advisors, has anyone received any applications yet?” Dick asked.

 

“Burgin showed some interest in applying but I haven’t received an application from him yet,” Andy answered. “I’ll ask him about it.”

 

“Rudy handed in his application a few days ago,” Brad answered. “If there are only one or two decent candidates from this dorm, I would say that Rudy is one of them.”

 

“Anyone else?” Dick asked as he made a note of the names on a spare piece of notebook paper.

 

Lena shook her head while Andy and Brad made negative noises.

 

“Well, there’s a week left, spread the word around, make sure people are aware. I believe we have a couple of really spectacular applicants in the dorm,” Dick continued.

 

After that, the meeting drew to a close. Brad left in a hurry so that he could take care of afternoon rounds and Lena left so that she could make her last class of the day. Andy stayed behind to help Dick clean up the study room they had used for their meeting.

 

“You really haven’t gotten any applicants yet?” Andy asked in disbelief.

 

“Not a one,” Dick answered. “I’m surprised too.”

 

“You have a lot of good guys on your floor,” Andy commented. “Maybe they just forgot about it in all the chaos that’s been going on recently.”

 

“Maybe,” Dick shrugged. “Compton asked me about RA duties a while ago but I don’t know if he’s still interested and I mentioned the application to Guarnere and he said he’d think about it.”

 

“What about Lip?” Andy asked; in his mind, Andy felt that Lipton was a prime R.A. candidate.

 

“I haven’t heard anything from him,” Dick answered in a tone of mild surprise. “I told him about the application a month ago but he didn’t seem interested.”

 

“Really?” Andy asked in disbelief.

 

“I thought Lipton would be a good candidate as well but if he doesn’t want to do it, I’m not going to push him,” Dick shrugged. “Maybe he’ll listen to you.”

 

“Worth a shot,” Andy said.

 

“Well, I’ll see you around, Andy,” Dick said as he clapped his fellow R.A. on the shoulder and headed for the door. “Gotta run.”

 

“See ya, Dick.”

 

Once Dick exited the room, Andy gathered up his items and headed towards the stairs. He made a quick pit stop on the fourth floor to drop off his things in his room before he headed up to the fifth floor. Thankfully, Lipton was already in his room, quietly working away at some homework assignment. Andy knocked on the open door to announce his arrival.

 

“Hey, Andy,” Lipton greeted him. “What’s up?”

 

“Just had a meeting with the other R.A.s,” Andy answered as he walked into the room and sat on the edge of Lipton’s bed.

 

“How’d it go?”

 

“As good as it can go I think,” Andy answered. “But at the end we started talking about something and it made me think of something I wanted to ask you.”

 

“Okay,” Carwood said as he turned around in his desk chair to fully face Andy. “Shoot.”

 

“I was wondering if you were planning on applying to be a R.A. for next year.”

 

“What?” Lipton asked, surprised. “Me?”

 

“Yeah, you,” Andy smiled. “I think you’d be perfect for it. I see how you are with the guys up here. You keep them in line when you need to, help them whenever you can, you’re always there to bring their spirits up when school gets stressful. I think you have all the necessary qualities that it takes to be an R.A. And it’s not just me who thinks this, Dick does too.”

 

“I… I don’t know what to say,” Carwood stuttered, feeling a little overwhelmed.

 

Truthfully, he had not really thought about applying to be a resident adviser for the next year. Dick had mentioned it some time ago but he hadn’t taken the idea to heart. He just didn’t feel like he was someone who screamed ‘R.A.’.  Lipton didn’t feel like he was ready to hold a position like that either.

 

“You don’t have to say anything right now. I just wanted to let you know what I thought and what Dick thought in case you were on the fence about it.”

 

“To be honest I don’t think I was anywhere near the fence until you came in here,” Lipton admitted.

 

“Why not?” Andy asked. “You’d be great at it. Unless of course, you wouldn’t want to, then I understand.”

 

“It’s not that I don’t want to do it, it’s just… I just don’t know if I could,” he continued. “I see the things you and Dick have to go through and I just don’t know.”

 

“Well, you have a week to think it over and I really think that you should. If you have any questions about it, don’t hesitate to ask me.”

 

Lipton watched as Andy got up from his bed and exited the room. Moments before he had been relatively relaxed while the only thing on his mind was the paper he needed to write for his history class. Now, however, he had far too much on his mind.

 

* * *

 

 

“Everyone’s ready?” Bill asked in a hush while crouched down behind the front desk. “Everyone’s loaded?”

 

“We’re good, Bill,” Babe hissed in return before he glanced back down at the large, plastic super-soaker he held securely in his hands; all of the chambers were filled to capacity with water.

 

“We all know the plan?” Bill hissed while he firmly clutched his own plastic super-soaker.

 

“We got this, Bill,” Spina insisted.

 

“Let me here the plan so in know you know,” he demanded seriously.

 

“Jesus Christ,” Toye muttered with a roll of his eyes. “We’re gonna roll out, one by one, you in the lead, me bringing up the rear. We’re gonna go under the foosball table, around the vending machines, and stop behind the red couch. You’re gonna give the signal and then we’re gonna fire.”

 

“Good, good,” Bill nodded before he grinned. “They may have started this war but we are gonna fucking finish it.”

 

This so called war had started off simple enough about two weeks ago. One morning, as Spina was rushing out of his room to get to class, he pulled on his trademark hat and found it unpleasantly filled with shaving cream. It had been easy enough to find out who the perpetrators were; Compton and Malarkey could be heard snickering through the wall in the room next door. In retaliation, Spina and Babe managed to snag Buck’s bottle of shampoo; the next time they saw Buck they were absolutely tickled to find his usually white-blond hair turned spectacularly blue.

 

Things had been quiet for a few days until it was brought to a screeching, lavender-scented halt. Bill, Babe, and Spina were sitting together in Bill’s room when the temporary calm was disrupted by shouts of ‘ _grenade!_ ’ and all of a sudden, the room was filled with a thick haze of sickly sweet smelling fog. After they spent some time choking and fumbling around towards the window, the three of them were able to put together what had happened. Based on the voices they heard, Buck, Skip, and Penkala had taken cans of air freshener, taped them so that they would spray their sickly smelling perfume until they ran out, and tossed them into the room.

 

_“So they wanna fucking play, huh?”_ Bill had coughed as he ripped the tape off of one of the cans of air freshener and tossed them into the trash. “ _Well we’ll fucking play alright.”_

 

Their next move was definitely a more ambitious one and took some time to get the execution right. A few nights ago, the plan was set. At around four in the morning, a loud, shrieking sound went off in the hallway just outside rooms 503 and 504, similar to the sound the fire alarm made. As they hoped, Buck, Malarkey, Skip, and Penkala all jumped out of their beds and stumbled into the hall in search of the noise. Or at least, they tried to. Instead of exiting their rooms and entering the hallway, the four students bounce off of what seemed to be an invisible force field and fell onto the floor. Bill, Babe, and Spina all laughed themselves into hysterics while Malarkey, Buck, Skip, and Penk stared in utter confusion at their Saranwrap covered doors.

 

After their prank a few nights ago, Bill, Babe, and Ralph knew that they couldn’t wait until the others returned fire. They needed to attack again and win the war. After they found out that it was Skip and Malarkey who got Joe in the showers with the bouillon cubes, they recruited an all-too happy Joe Toye for their final assault against them.

 

Now, the four of them sat crouched behind the front desk in the Hanks House common room, all of them loaded up with the biggest water guns money could buy them. Their targets currently sat on the couches on the other side of the common room, unsuspecting. With a nod and a pump of his massive water gun, Bill left the safety of the front desk and ran, doubled over, towards the foosball table; the other three trailed closely behind him in formation.

 

The four of them crossed the common room with relative ease and stopped, as instructed, behind the red couch, all with their water guns ready to fire.

 

“Three…” Bill mouthed. “Two… one… _go!_ ”

 

Together, the four of them sprung up and turned, ready to fire at the unsuspecting four. However, just as they began to fire, they were met with faces filled with water; the other four were prepared and had their own sets of water guns ready.

 

“How’d you like that?” Buck exclaimed as he ducked behind the front of the couch but continued to fire.

 

“Keep firing!” Bill yelled as he managed to squirt Skip right in the face with a stream of water. “Don’t retreat!”

 

“Bill, I’m out!” Babe yelled while he clutched his empty water gun.

 

“Here!” Bill yelled before he tossed Babe the water pistol he had tucked in the back of his pants.

 

“Ah, fuck! I’m dead, I’m dead, okay!” Malarkey cried while he tried to block the constant stream of water that Joe fired directly into his face. “I surrender, _Jesus!_ ”

 

Eventually, both sides ran out of water and they were left standing on either sides of the couch, soaked to the bone and grinning ear to ear. The eight of them looked around at the now soaked common room and laughed.

 

“We look like a couple of friggin’ sewer rats,” Bill laughed as he reached out and ruffled Babe’s sopping red hair.

 

“How mad do you think the R.A.’s are gonna be about this?” Buck asked with a chuckle as he stared up at the dripping ceiling.

 

“Well, if we keep standing around here, I’m sure we’re bound to find out,” Babe pointed out. “Maybe we should hightail it out of here before they see this.”

 

“Hell of an idea,” Malarkey agreed.

 

Still grinning, his once white-blond hair still colored a faded blue-green color, Buck extended a hand across the couch to Bill.

 

“Truce?”

 

Bill stared at the hand for a long moment, looking suddenly serious, before he let out his customary harsh laugh and grabbed the hand tightly with one of his own.

 

“Truce,” Bill agreed. “But if I even get a whiff of you or one of your guys messing with one of my boys, it’s fucking on.”

 

“Wouldn’t expect anything less from Wild Bill,” Buck grinned.

 

Laughing and dripping everywhere, the eight of them headed up to the fifth floor while they exchanged praise for each other’s prank ideas, any bad blood that had existed between them hours before had disappeared completely.

 

“So how long do you think my hairs gonna look like this?”

 

“Eh, it’s semi-permanent so give it a month,” Ralph answered. “Might just be easier to shave your head.”

 

“Nah, I don’t mind it. I think the color really brings out my eyes, don’t you think?”

 

“By the way, I think the carpet in Bill and Joe’s room permanently smells like lavender air freshener.”

 

“So we made an improvement!” Skip exclaimed. “It’s gotta be better than that crusty old sock and cigarette smell.”

 

“That shaving cream washed out of your hat, right, Spina?” Penkala asked as they opened the door out onto the fifth floor.

 

“Yeah, it’s fine, just a pain in the ass when you’re already late for class,” Ralph gripped.

 

“Everyone’s late for class from time to time, it’s no biggie.”

 

“Tell that to the one professor who actually gives a shit about punctuality.”

 

“Ya know what, guys? That saranwrap prank was actually pretty ingenious,” Malarkey conceded. “Where did you even think of something like that?”

 

“The internet,” Babe answered with a grin.

 

Buck, Malarkey, Skip, and Penkala all peeled away from they reached their rooms so that they could change into dry clothes. When they reached Ralph’s room, Gene turned around from where he sat at his desk and stared at the three dripping wet and grinning friends in mild confusion.

 

“You boys decide to go for a swim?”

 

“Nah, just settling some business,” Babe answered as he stopped next to Gene and placed his arm around his shoulder.

 

“And this business… it required water guns?” Gene asked slowly as he stared at the massive super-soaker Babe held in his other hand. “You know what? I don’t want to know.”

 

Gene was one of a handful of people in the dorm who not only did not want any part of the prank was but also managed to actually escape any involvement in it.

 

“You don’t have to worry about it, Gene,” Babe assured him. “It’s taken care of.”

 

“For some reason that doesn’t necessarily instill a lot of confidence in me.”

 

“Trust us, Doc, everything’s under control now,” Ralph said as he pulled a pair of fresh clothes out of his closet. “We just had to show Buck and the others who’s boss.”

 

“I wish you could have seen it, Gene, it was amazing,” Babe said with a bright smile. “We were hiding behind the front counter down stairs and Bill led us out like we were in the fucking army or something…”

 

Gene watched as Babe very animatedly retold the story of their showdown for him. While it all sounded very entertaining, Gene wasn’t paying all that much attention. Instead, he paid attention to Babe’s grinning face, the sound of his loud, nasally laugh, the way he doubled over with laughter when Bill reenacted shooting Malarkey in the face earlier.

 

Sure, all this prank war nonsense irritated Gene more than it entertained him but if meant that it made Babe smile like this, well, he figured he could deal with it for the rest of his life.

 

* * *

 

 

Ever since Andy had come to talk to him yesterday afternoon, all Lipton could think about was what Andy said. He honestly had not thought about applying to become a resident adviser next year. A couple guys had joked about applying, claiming that the free board would be worth the pain- and Carwood had half-heartedly joked along with them -but none of them had been serious.

 

_“I think you’d be perfect for it…you keep them in line when you need to, help them whenever you can…I think you have all the necessary qualities that it takes to be an R.A. and it’s not just me who thinks this…”_

 

Was he though? Was he really capable of being a resident advisor? Sure, he was always willing to help when he could and worked to keep the peace when things got out of hand but there was so much more to being a R.A., wasn’t there?

 

“Carwood.”

 

Lipton blinked and found his right hand suddenly covered with another, slightly larger hand. He looked up and found Ron sitting across the food hall table from him, looking slightly concerned. Lipton glanced back down at his now cold plate of food and gave his head a quick shake.

 

“Sorry,” Carwood apologized as he flipped his hand over so that he could grip Ron’s.

 

“It’s okay,” Ron said as he gave Lipton’s hand a gentle squeeze. “What’s on your mind?”

 

“Andy asked me if I thought about applying to be an R.A. for next year,” Carwood answered slowly.

 

“And what did you say?”

 

“I told him that I hadn’t thought about it at all honestly,” Carwood admitted with a small chuckle.

 

“You haven’t?” Ron asked, surprised.

 

“No. Not really.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I just don’t feel like I’d be capable enough,” Lipton admitted after a quick pause. “Andy apparently things differently-”

 

“And so do I,” Ron interjected, surprising Lipton.

 

“What?”

 

“I think you would be an amazing R.A.,” Ron said firmly. “I think you’re completely capable for the job.”

 

“Well…why me? Why not you?” Lipton asked. “You’re capable too, you’ve got more experience when it comes to college. Why not you instead of me?”

 

Unexpectedly, Ron began to laugh.

 

“What?” he asked, confused.

 

“Oh, Car, I know you like to claim different, but I am lacking when it comes to my interpersonal skills,” Ron explained. “I might have some of the necessary qualities to be a good R.A. but I’m afraid I don’t have all of them. You, however, do.”

 

“Lack of people skills didn’t stop Colbert from being an R.A.,” Carwood pointed.

 

“Carwood, listen,” Ron started, “I haven’t met a guy in the dorm who had a single bad thing to say about you; all the residents here know that you’re someone who they can depend on if they need it. You keep everyone together when things are stressful, keep the guys from killing each other. You already do everything that a good R.A. does. I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to do it for real next year.”

 

“You think so?” Carwood asked, feeling humble.

 

“Of course I do,” Ron insisted. “I know you. I know what you’re capable of. So does Andy. So does Dick. Now it’s just a question of _if_ you want to do it.”

 

“Truthfully I’m not sure if I want to do it either,” he said as he turned to face his cold plate of breakfast. “It just seems like a lot of work.”

 

“And since when have you been afraid of a little hard work?” Ron asked with a knowing smirk.

 

“You got me there,” Carwood smiled. “I don’t know. I’m thinking about it still.”

 

“How long until the applications are due?”

 

“About a week.”

 

“Well, take the week, think it over. If you don’t want to do it, I understand but don’t be afraid to do it just because you think you’re not capable enough,” Ron said as he leaned across the table so that he as closer to Carwood. “You’re capable of so much, Carwood. You just need to believe in yourself more.”

 

* * *

 

 

Eugene couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this content or relaxed. It was Wednesday afternoon, his last class of the day had been canceled, and he was all caught up on his school work for once. Merriell, who was done with class by noon on Wednesday, was also relatively caught on his work for once. The common room was almost empty which meant that the two of them were free to take over one of the couches in the corner and the television set. Eugene and Merriell sat slouched in the center of the couch, feet stretched out onto the coffee table in front of them, while Eugene’s head rested on Merriell’s shoulder.

 

It had been a few weeks since their Spring Break weekend in New Orleans but there were times still when Eugene struggled to realized that it had actually happened and wasn’t just some extremely vivid dream.

 

Eugene doubted he had ever been happier in his life than he was now. He had never really craved a relationship but he had to admit that now that he had one, he could understand why some people were so desperate for one. Kissing was nice but Eugene figure that this right here was what he liked the most, the ability to have a warm, comforting body next to him.

 

Sure, the romantic aspects that had been added to their relationship were great and definitely helped to boost Eugene’s mood but Eugene knew the real reason why he was so happy now: He got one of his best friends back. Eugene had missed Merriell terribly when they stopped talking. He missed the simple things the most: hanging out with him, eating meals together, studying and tutoring. Everything else was just a bonus.

 

_Flick, snap! Flick, snap! Flick, snap!_

 

Eugene turned his head and watched as Merriell lazily flicked his zippo lighter open and close with his right hand as he stared at the television with unfocused eyes. After a few more seconds of this, Eugene reached out and tapped him on his chest.

 

“Sorry,” Shelton apologized before he stowed the lighter back into his pants pocket.

 

“It’s okay,” Eugene said as he watched Merriell move his now unoccupied hand into his hair; he didn’t know if he had ever seen Merriell this fidgety before. “Are you okay?”

 

“Course I am,” Merriell answered. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

 

Eugene shrugged.

 

“You just seem a little off is all,” Eugene said gently while he stared at Merriell, who refused to meet his eyes.

 

“…guess I’m just a little stressed over classes,” Merriell answered after a pause. “Finals coming up and all.”

 

“You should have said something. We could have been studying instead of wasting time watching TV.”

 

“Yeah, because that’s what I want to do. Go over exam questions instead of laying around watching TV,” Merriell said with a roll of his eyes. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.”

 

Seemingly convinced, Eugene turned away from Merriell and focused back on the television show in front of them. Merriell, however, once again lost his focus on whatever show they were watching. His mind was focused on other, more important matters that definitely did not have to do with his school work. He wanted to ask Eugene if he felt okay, if he was happy with how things were going between them now that they were together. Merriell was content with how they went back to their old routines- watching television and movies, relaxing around the dorm together, studying occasionally -but in the back of his mind he couldn’t help but wonder if there were other things they should be doing, things that _couples_ did. He wondered if Eugene felt the same, wondered if he expected them to do something different, but he didn’t want to cause an issue if there wasn’t one.

 

Eugene tilted his head and toward Merriell again. Before he could say anything else, Merriell tipped his head down and kissed Eugene.

 

“What was that for?” Eugene asked with a subtle smile.

 

“Do I need a reason?”

 

“I guess not,” Eugene decided before he returned his head back to Merriell’s shoulder.

 

Almost hesitantly, Merriell moved the arm had been resting along the back of the couch and let it drop around Eugene’s shoulders. Merriell kept still while Eugene readjusted his position so that his head rest against Merriell’s chest; once Eugene was comfortable he let out the deep breath he had been holding inside.

 

He was not going to mess this up. He was not going to fuck everything up for once. Merriell would figure this out. He just needed a little more time and maybe a little help.

 

* * *

 

 

“We’ve got a problem.”

 

Leckie looked up from his book and found Chuckler and Hoosier standing in his dorm room doorway. Chuckler’s usually relaxed and happy face was oddly serious; Leckie put his book down and sat up on his bed.

 

“What’s the problem?” he asked, feeling concerned.

 

“Ya gotta come with us,” Hoosier answered; Hoosier’s tone or expression wasn’t as serious as Chuckler’s, which relaxed Leckie some.

 

“What happened?” Leckie asked as he got off of his bed.

 

“Someone got Runner,” Chuckler answered as they entered the stairwell and headed down the stairs.

 

“Got him how?” Leckie’s mind was spinning with possibilities.

 

“Just wait and see.”

 

Together the three of them walked down the stairs to the third floor. Once they stepped out onto the third floor, instead of heading to Runner’s or Chuckler’s room like Leckie expected, they instead entered the bathroom. Leckie continued to follow Chuckler and Hoosier until they stopped in front of one of the last stalls. Chuckler tapped the door with the back of his hand.

 

“Yo, Runner, buddy, how’re you holding up in there?”

 

“I got the goddamn runs how do you think I’m doing?” Runner exclaimed, irritated, from the other side of the stall door.

 

Still struggling to put the pieces together, Leckie turned to Hoosier for answers.

 

“Someone spiked Runner’s food with laxatives,” Hoosier answered while a smirk; obviously he found this whole thing hilarious.

 

“What?” Leckie responded with a small laugh.

 

“Don’t you assholes laugh at my pain,” Runner growled. “This is fucking awful.”

 

“Well we’re gonna figure out who did this to you and we’re gonna get them back, okay?” Chuckler assured him. “No one gets one of us without payback.”

 

“Do we know who did it?” Leckie asked.

 

“We got nothing,” Hoosier answered as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his jeans.

 

“We have some leads,” Chuckler clarified. “There are the top offenders we can check out like Luz and Person and Skip and Penkala. If they didn’t do it then they probably know who did.”

 

“Like I said,” Hoosier murmured quietly as he lit his cigarette.

 

“Hey guys, I might have a lead,” Runner announced through the stall door. “Jay just texted me and apparently he’s in a similar position as me up on the fifth floor. Could be related.”

 

“We you hanging out with Jay recently?”

 

“Uh, yeah, we were studying for our math exam that’s coming up,” Runner answered.

 

“Did you eat anything in his room?”

 

“No,” Runner said weakly. “But I had something to drink in his room.”

 

“Can you put laxatives in water?” Chuckler asked Leckie and Hoosier. “Do they like, dissolve?”

 

“Maybe they come in like, a powder form?” Leckie shrugged. “We should go see what Jay has to say about this though.”

 

“Hey we’ll be back, buddy,” Chuckler said as he gave the stall door a quick tap. “Text us if you need us.”

 

“I’ll be right here,” Runner said miserably.

 

The trip up to the fifth floor bathroom only took a moment. Once inside they quickly found Jay in a similar state as Runner.

 

“Hey, Jay,” Chuckler said as he tapped on the closed stall door. “Got a sec?”

 

“I have loads of seconds, Chuckler, what the fuck do you want?” Jay asked, his voice a mix of misery and anger.

 

“We were just talking to Runner and we were wondering if you had any idea who might have done this to you guys,” Chuckler explained.

 

“Oh I got an idea alright,” Jay said through the door. “It was fucking Snafu.”

 

“Snafu? Are you sure?”

 

“How do you know it was him?”

 

“I know it was him because that asshole came in here and told me as such about twenty seconds ago. The asshole was laughing and everything.”

 

“Did he say why he did it?” Leckie asked.

 

“Yeah, he said it was payback for making a bet about whether or not he and Sledge would grow up and make out already,” Jay answered. “Which is bullshit because who the hell in this dorm didn’t make a bet on that?”

 

“I made thirty bucks off of that mess,” Hoosier grinned.

 

“You made _thirty_ bucks? Off of who?” Chuckler asked, scandalized. “Man I got only ten off of them.”

 

“Guys. Weren’t we focused on who got Runner?” Leckie asked before Hoosier could speak. “We know who did it so now shouldn’t we start working on a counterattack?”

 

“Right,” Chuckler agreed before he gave the stall door another tap. “Good luck, Jay. We’ll make sure to get Snafu twice as hard for you too.”

 

“Gee, thanks.”

 

“Anyone got any plans for payback?” Leckie asked as the headed for the exit.

 

“Nothing too grand but I’ve got a couple of small ideas we can do,” Chuckler answered.

 

“Better than nothing. Let’s get to it.”

 

* * *

 

 

Over the past few weeks, the pranks had either been enjoyed or tolerated by almost all of the residents in the dorm. Sure, there were a few cases of residents who were fed up with the nonsense and took up temporary shelter in the twenty-four hour library and others who made it clear that they wanted absolutely no part of the antics but for the most part things were going fine in the dorm. No pranks had crossed the imaginary line that everyone seemed to acknowledge, that is until Wednesday evening, when a loud, piercing shriek echoed throughout the entire building; the epicenter seemed to be somewhere on the fifth floor.

 

“Nix!” Dick exclaimed as he ran down the fifth floor hallway, feeling panicked; he recognized the source of the shriek within an instant.

 

In the moment it took for him to reach the bathroom, where he was sure Nix’s voice came from, his mind raced with a million horrible possibilities. Did Nix get hurt somehow? Was it bad? Who had hurt him? Was Lewis okay?

 

“Nix!” Dick exclaimed as he burst into the bathroom and found his boyfriend standing in front of one of the many mirrors, looking absolutely horrified. “Lew, what’s wrong? What’s the matter?”

 

“I can’t believe it,” Nixon muttered weakly while he griped the sink with white knuckles and stared at his reflection with wide eyes. “I can’t believe those shits actually fucking did it.”

 

“Did what?” Dick asked while he searched his body for any sign of injury or distress; everywhere he looked, Lewis appeared to be fine.

 

“ _My eyebrow!”_ Lewis shrieked as he turned to look at Dick, face twisted in distress. _“Someone shaved off one of my eyebrows!_ ”

 

Lewis wasn’t lying. Clear as day, Dick could see that Lewis’ right eyebrow had been completely shaved off of his face; not a trace of hair was left behind of Nix’s formerly glorious eyebrow. It was an extremely odd image to see, it gave Nix’s face a very lopsided appearance; Dick wanted to laugh at the unusual look but he forced himself to keep it in when he realized the level of Lewis’ distress.

 

“My God, Nix, that’s terrible,” Dick said as calmly as he could manage.

 

“Don’t laugh, Dick! This isn’t a laughing matter! Do you know how long eyebrows take to grow back? I look fucking ridiculous!”

 

“Hey, calm down, Lew,” Dick said softly as he placed a gentle hand on Lew’s shoulder. “How did this happen? Do you know who did it?”

 

“All I know is that I went down for a nap with two eyebrows and woke up with one,” he explain angrily.

 

“Hey, it’s not the end of the world-”

 

“That’s easy for you to say,” Lewis growled as he turned back to face his reflection. “You have two eyebrows! God, I am going to find out whoever did this and I am going to-”

 

“Lewis,” Dick said as he gave Nix’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Trust me, I will find out who did this and we will bring all this back under control.”

 

“This stupid prank war thing has gone too far, Dick.”

 

“I know,” Dick said while he felt a weight settle at the pit of his stomach.

 

It was true; things had gotten out of hand. He and the other R.A.s tried to keep things under control but there were so many instances of pranks and so many possible suspects it was almost impossible to properly discipline people. In the beginning, the pranks had been innocent and fun but now things were going too far; Dick needed to bring everything back under control before someone got hurt.

 

* * *

 

 

After the events of Thursday, the mood in Hanks House seemed to have shifted. Things had gone from relatively light and humorous to extremely tense; everyone was on high alert and no one felt safe. The imaginary line that limited the escalation of the war had been erased with Nix’s right eyebrow.

 

Finally accepting that things may have gotten out of hand, the four R.A.s convened for an emergency damage control meeting. Due to the number of pranks and people involved it would be hard to properly punish everyone but the R.A.s all agreed that even just a few people were punished it would be better than nothing and hopefully those few would help to dissuade others.

 

“I don’t see what they’re freaking out about,” Ray commented Wednesday evening as he sat on Luz’s dorm room floor while the R.A.s talked five floors below them. “We’re just having some fun. I expected this kind of reaction from Bradley but the rest of them I thought would be a little more lenient.”

 

“Hey if you ask me, they have been lenient if they let this shit go on for as long as it did,” Perconte said as he turned around in his desk chair to face Ray. “This shit was pretty fun for the first week but now…I don’t know man. I’d kinda like it if I were able to leave any of my valuables out in the open for more than five seconds again.”

 

“Aww, come on, Perconte,” Ray continued. “I got fucking kicked out of my own room and I’m still having a good time.”

 

All Ray had done to Brad was subtly rearrange the entire room and all of his possessions. An innocent prank yes, but for Brad it was still too much. After Brad offered Ray an ultimatum, a truce to leave him and his shit alone or leave the room, Ray happily grabbed his pillow and had been camping out in different rooms over the past few weeks. Unfortunately for Ray and fortunately for Brad, Brad seemed better at prank prevention than Ray was at pranking; after the initial prank Ray hadn’t managed to get anything on Brad.

 

“What do you think, Luz?” Ray asked. “You still all for fighting in the war, aren’t you?”

 

“Ehh… honestly, I’m kinda on Perc’s side,” George admitted. “This shit was a blast while it lasted but I dunno, I just feel like if we don’t stop soon someone is gonna get hurt.”

 

“You’ve grown soft,” Ray declared, sounding mildly horrified.

 

“I mean this shit has got to end soon right?” Luz asked as he looked at his two friends. “Finals are coming up soon. We can’t be swapping out lotion for mayo and spiking shampoo with hair dye when everyone’s already stressed to the extremes over exams. That’s just asking for someone to get fucked up.”

 

“How do you think they’re gonna dish out punishments?” Ray asked a moment later. “Do you think it’s gonna be retroactive shit? Or are they gonna start punishing people only after today? Because I gotta tell you man, I’m pretty sure I have so many mandatory volunteer hours that they’re already bleeding over into next year.”

 

“I think you have issues if you’ve already kissed your Saturday mornings goodbye for next semester when this ones not even over yet,” Frank stated bluntly.

 

“And what if you’ve got so much disciplinary action stacked up that when you get to graduation you’ve still got some left? Do you get to graduate or do you have to like cram hours of work in right before graduation?”

 

“You know, if you think you’re not gonna get kicked out of school and actually make it to graduation at this rate, you’re crazy man,” Luz pointed out.

 

“What can I say, I’m an optimist.”

 

* * *

 

 

“This is fucking stupid,” Hoosier grumbled as he, Leckie, Chuckler, and a newly mobile Runner walked up the cool, quiet stairwell up to the fifth floor; it was some time after three in the morning and there were about a million things the Bill would rather be doing that this right now. “This shit ain’t necessary.”

 

“That’s easy for you to say,” Runner grumbled. “You didn’t spend an entire day on the toilet shitting your brains out.”

 

“Come on, Hoos, we gotta get this asshole back,” Chuckler insisted. “It’s only right.”

 

“If you ask me, this isn’t exactly getting him back if we’re doing this lame-ass prank,” Hoosier grumbled while he attempted to pull his body further into his oversized hoodie. “I mean, the shaving cream in the hand thing? It’s cute and all but it’s not the same level as laxatives in your food.”

 

“This is only step one,” Leckie reminded him. “They’ll be more.”

 

“Oh gee, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” Hoosier drawled sarcastically. “Maybe next time we do this we can do it sometime besides the ass-crack of dawn.”

 

“You know, Hoosier, if you ever wonder if we keep you around just for your looks or if it’s because we enjoy your personality, just letting you know that it’s almost definitely because of your looks.”

 

The fifth floor was empty and almost eerily quiet when they stepped out onto it. Snafu’s dorm room was one of the closest to the stairwell and it was thankfully and almost foolishly unlocked when they reached the door; almost no one left their rooms unlocked anymore, it was too dangerous of a thing to do.

 

“Alright, everyone ready?” Leckie whispered before they entered the room.

 

In a single file line, the four of them entered the room, crouched over, while they tried to let a little light from the hallway into the room as possible. After a quick check of the two beds in the room, they figured out which one was Snafu’s and got to work.

 

“Okay, who has the shaving cream?”

 

“Wait, how are we supposed to do this?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“The kids sleeping like a fucking burrito, how’re we supposed to get this into his hands?”

 

“This is fucking stupid.”

 

“ _Shut up_.”

 

“What the fuck is going on?” an angry, groggy voice asked from behind them.

 

The four turned around quickly and saw the skinny outline of Joe Liebgott rising up from his bed. The sliver of light from the hallway was just enough to illuminate the clear irritation on his face.

 

“Shit.”

 

“What the fuck are you guys doing?” Joe asked angrily as he sat up on his bed and glared at the four of them.

 

“Shh,” Runner hissed at Joe. “This doesn’t concern you.”

 

“Whazz goin’ on?” came a second, sleepier voice.

 

A moment later a half-asleep Webster emerged from underneath Liebgott’s covers, thick dark hair sticking up in every direction.

 

“Yikes,” Chuckler commented. “That is _not_ an image I wanted to see.”

 

“I’m sorry, Leckie, are you forced to see shit like this all the time?” Runner asked.

 

“Hey, what the fuck are you guys doing in my room?” Joe persisted, voice rising, while Webster grumbled and buried himself back underneath the blankets.

 

“We’re trying to get Snafu back for fucking with Runner, okay?” Leckie responded. “We’re not gonna do anything to you guys okay?”

 

“Yeah you better not think of pulling anything on us,” Joe growled. “Cus I don’t want any part of your stupid game and neither does Web and if you try anything I’ll kick your ass.”

 

“Jesus, we know, Joe, calm down,” Leckie said with a roll of his eyes.

 

Joe had made it extremely clear from the very beginning that he did not want any part of it and made sure that no one bother Webster with pranks either. That didn’t stop people from trying to get him or Webster though. However, unlike other people who retaliated to unwanted pranks with more pranks, Joe just got extremely pissed off; it was only a matter of time until someone went too far and Joe threw a punch.

 

“Now let’s get this over with before we wake up the whole floor.”

 

“Yeah, hurry up so that you can let get some damn sleep,” Snafu drawled, voice clear and unaffected by sleep.

 

Leckie turned around and found Snafu lying on his side, propped up by an elbow, wide awake and staring flatly at all of them.

 

“Good mornin’, princesses,” Snafu drawled. “Joe, I wasn’t aware we were having a slumber party tonight.”

 

“This sure as hell wasn’t my doing,” Joe grumbled as he settled back down into his bed.

 

“Next time I suggesting not talking so loudly that you wake the dead,” Snafu suggested with a hint of a smirk on his face.

 

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ, this was pointless. I’m going to bed” Hoosier grumbled as he got up from the floor and headed for the door.

 

“Also, if you try to get me again, I suggest you step up your game.” Snafu reached out and smacked the shaving cream out of Runner’s hand. “I expected better from you guys, really.”

 

“I fucking told you!” Hoosier exclaimed as he exited the room and walked out into the hallway.

 

* * *

 

 

“You know I don’t know if you should be doing this, Bill,” Babe said uneasily as he followed after his best friend across the semi-empty quad. “This doesn’t feel right.”

 

“What are you talking about, Babe?” Bill asked without breaking his stride. “It’s just prank. It’s gonna be fine.”

 

“Why are you so set on pranking him though?” Babe asked. “He’s made it clear that he doesn’t want a park of this shit and not to mention, if you fuck with Web, Joe is gonna kick your ass.”

 

“Let him try. I ain’t afraid of Joe,” Bill scoffed. “And Web is a grown fuckin’ guy, if he’s got a beef with me after this he can deal with it himself, not have his boyfriend fight his battles for him.”

 

Babe wanted to point out how Frannie had fought a number of battles for Bill over the years but instead kept the comment to himself and continued to follow after his best friend.

 

Babe really didn’t like this plan of Bill’s. Sure, the other pranks he had been a part of had been hilarious and Babe had had more fun these past few weeks than he had in a long time, but this felt like too much. Babe knew that Bill didn’t actually want to prank Webster that badly, he just wanted to do it because Joe said that he couldn’t. Growing up, Bill had always had a reputation as a troublemaker; Babe got the feeling he wasn’t going to grow out of that reputation anytime soon.

 

“If you’ve got such a problem with it, why don’t you leave me alone?” Bill grumbled as he entered Hanks house through the backdoor and began jogging up the stairwell up to the fifth floor.

 

“I’m coming along in case you get your ass into so much trouble you can’t get out of it by yourself,” Babe answered with a sigh. He and Bill were cradle to the grave; digging each other out of idiot situations was part of the job description.

 

“Whatever blows your skirt up,” Bill said with a shake of his head as he continued along up the stairs.

 

Once Bill stepped out onto the fifth floor, he turned and knocked on the partially open door for room 512. When Webster asked who was it Bill responded through the door while he grinned at Babe over his shoulder. A moment later, Webster opened the door.

 

“What’s up, Bill?” Web asked, clearly confused.

 

“Hey, so, you’re really into sharks, right?” Bill asked, face and voice both completely serious.

 

“Um, yeah. Why do you ask?” Web asked slowly while he looked from Babe to Bill.

 

“Man, you gotta get down to the beach right now,” Bill said excitedly. “I was down by the piers and I totally saw a fucking shark.”

 

“ _What_?”

 

“I ain’t shitting you man, I saw it with me own two eyes.”

 

“Do you know what kind it was?” Webster asked quickly with wide eyes as he ran back into his room, presumably to grab his keys or phone.

 

“Ehh, I dunno, it was like, smallish?” Bill asked vaguely with a shrug. “I don’t fucking know, I’m not an expert. But if we get moving I bet it’ll still be there.”

 

“Right, yeah, sounds good,” Web nodded before he turned and called over his shoulder. “Hey, Joe, I’ll be right back.”

 

“What the fucks going on?” Joe asked while Bill frowned at the sound of groaning bed springs. A moment later Joe appeared next to Web in the open doorway, looking suspicious. “What’s up?”

 

“Just saw a shark down by the beach, thought Web here would wanna see it before it swam away,” Bill answered innocently.

 

“Uh huh, sure. And what makes you think that this little shark didn’t swim away in the time it took you to get here?”

 

“Joe, what’re you doing-?”

 

“I don’t but if we hurry, it _could_ still be there,” Bill persisted. “And the longer we stand here talking, the less likely it’s gonna be there, so, _come on, Web.”_

 

“I’m coming with you,” Joe insisted.

 

“Joe, you’re being irrational.”

 

“I don’t give a shit,” Joe stated bluntly. “I’m not having you get eaten by a shark because you were trying to get a selfie with it or something.”

 

“Fine,” Bill shrugged as he stepped backwards toward the stairwell. “The more the merrier.”

 

Together, the four of them headed down the stairs, out of the building, and toward the beach. The entire time they walked, Joe grumbled and continued to pester Bill and Web with questions about the legitimacy of this trip, Web asked Bill questions about the shark while bickering with Joe to calm down, Bill continued to keep cool and strung Webster along, and Babe kept his mouth shut; he was trying his best to play neutral here in case things went south, and Babe had a feeling in his gut that that was the only direction things were going to go today.

 

“Right over here,” Bill said as they neared the beach and Bill led them down the small wooden pier that jutted out into the water.

 

“I don’t see anything,” Joe griped as he glowered at the water surrounding the pier.

 

“It’s at the end, I swear,” Bill persisted as he took Webster by the shoulder and pulled him toward the far end of the pier. “Right down there.”

 

Babe watched as Bill led Webster away and had him crouch down near the edge while he motioned somewhere just under the pier. He felt guilt tug at him somewhere inside but it wasn’t enough to make him walk to the end and stop Bill. Instead he turned to look at Joe, who was watching them with hawk-like focus. Babe turned back to look at Bill just as he was shoving Webster face first into the water. Joe took off down the pier like a rocket; Babe followed after him.

 

“What the fuck,” Joe growled as he ran down the pier. “ _David!”_

 

“Bill!” Babe exclaimed as he followed after Joe. “What the…?”

 

This wasn’t the plan. Bill said that he wasn’t actually going to push Webster into the water, just fake him out to give him a scare. This wasn’t good.

 

“What the fuck did you do?” Joe growled once he reached Bill and gripped the front of Bill’s shirt with both hands, jerking him close so that they were almost nose to nose.

 

“Calm down, it ain’t even that deep over here,” Bill started as he tried to push Joe off of him. “He’s-.”

 

Joe removed one of his hands from Bill’s shirt front and whatever Bill was going to say next was cut off when Joe rammed a fist into his mouth. The punch was so strong that it sent Bill staggering before he landed flat on his ass.

 

“Jesus, what the fuck,” Bill muttered as he raised a hand to gingerly touch his mouth and found that his lip was split. “God damn, Joe, it was just a prank.”

 

Joe wasn’t listening. Instead he looked over the edge of the pier and down into the water. He didn’t see a sign of Webster. Feeling as if his heart was lodged somewhere inside of his throat, Joe quickly pulled off his hoodie and forced his tennis shoes off of his feet.

 

“Fuck. _Fuck_ ,” Joe hissed as he pulled his phone and wallet out of his pants pocket and dropped them on top of his hoodie.

 

“What the fuck are you doing?” Bill grumbled as he pushed himself back onto his feet.

 

Joe took one large step toward Bill so that their faces were almost nose to nose again. Bill raised his arm in preparation for another hit but it didn’t come. Instead of a fist, Bill only saw Joe’s brown eyes, filled with anger and something that alarmingly looked like pain or maybe even fear.

 

“Dave can’t fucking swim, you asshole,” Joe hissed quickly before he turned and dove into the water.

 

As Joe broke the surface of the water, Bill turned to look at Babe; Babe watched as panic crept slowly across Bill’s usual scowling face.

 

“Did you know Web couldn’t swim?” Bill asked.

 

“No,” Babe answered honestly.

 

“Fuck,” Bill hissed as he looked over the edge of the pier. “God damn it.”

 

Bill tossed his phone onto the pier before he kicked off his own shoes and jumped into the water. He started this shit. He needed to fix it.

 

Bill considered himself a strong swimmer but swimming in street clothes was a whole different matter. Bill took a large breath of air before he let the weight of his clothes drag him down. He tried to ignore the gnawing feeling in his chest and the voice that screamed at him in his head, the one that sounded like Frannie and called him an idiot, and focused on finding Web. He needed to find Web. He needed this to all end okay.

 

Unable to stay under any longer, Bill swam back to the surface for air. After Bill blinked the water out of his eyes he turned to look at Babe, who stood at the edge of the pier, looking as if he were going to be sick.

 

“You haven’t found them?” Babe asked, voice filled with panic.

 

“No,” Bill answered. “It’s too dark, I can’t see shit down there-.”

 

Suddenly, the relatively calm surface of the water a couple yards away broke and a second later, Joe and Webster appeared, coughing and disoriented but alive.

 

“You’re okay, you’re okay,” Joe said quietly but firmly to Webster while he wheezed and coughed harshly. “Hey, you’re okay, just try to breathe.”

 

“Thank God,” Bill muttered before he swam over to the duo. “Jesus, Joe… Web, hey, I’m really sorry.”

 

Joe turned his head to look at Bill and sent him an icy glare. He didn’t want to hear Bill’s shit, didn’t want him anywhere near him or Web, but he needed him; it was hard enough to swim back to shore by himself but it would be even more difficult to do it while towing David, who was currently still struggling to breathe let alone doggie paddle to shore.

 

“Grab his other side,” Joe instructed Bill as he moved to support Web’s right side. “We need to get him to the beach.”

 

Together, the two of them managed to paddle Webster back to the beach. Babe picked up all their discarded items and followed them along the wooden pier. Once they were back on the safety of dry land, Joe pushed Bill off of Webster.

 

“Hey, look, I’m sorry, Joe,” Bill said as Joe crouched over Webster protectively, as if Bill was going to hurt him somehow. “I’m sorry, Web, I didn’t know. If I had known I wouldn’t have done that, I swear-”

 

“We both fucking told you we didn’t want a part of this stupid shit,” Joe growled. “Yet you just _had_ to drag us in.”

 

“I’m sorry-”

 

“I don’t wanna fucking hear it, okay? You almost got Web fucking killed, sorry ain’t gonna fucking cut it,” Joe yelled as he moved to closer to Bill, face twisted in rage.

 

“Well what do you want me to do?” Bill asked while his voice began to rise.

 

“I want you to stay as far away from me or David as fucking possible, okay?” Joe spat. “I don’t want you to talk to him, I don’t want you to fucking look at him, got it?”

 

“Joe,” Webster said roughly while he placed a hand on Joe’s arm in an attempt to bring him back. “You don’t need to be so-”

 

“So _what?_ So _defensive?_ So _angry?_ ” Joe asked as he rounded on Webster. “This guy almost fucking _killed you_ and you want me to give him a break?”

 

“He didn’t know-”

 

“I didn’t fucking know-”

 

“I don’t give a shit okay? He fucking knew that we didn’t want to be a part of this bullshit and that’s reason enough to be pissed at him,” Joe continued as he turned back to face Bill. “Why don’t you get the fuck out of here before give you a black eye to go with that fat lip of yours?”

 

Babe saw something flicker in Bill’s eyes, something that he usually saw right before Bill lost his patience and threw a punch, and knew that things here needed to be brought to an end. Surging forward, Babe placed himself in-between Bill and Joe.

 

“Hey, how about we just stop this right now,” Babe suggested as he looked from Bill to Joe. “Just go back home, maybe take Web to student health to get checked out, and let’s just end this-”

 

“Oh, I’m gonna end something,” Joe growled before he lunged around Babe, ready for round two.

 

“Hey, hey, hey!” Babe exclaimed while he tried to separate the two without getting punched in the face. “Web! I could use your help!”

 

“Joe!” Web yelled as he scrambled onto his feet and wrapped his arms around Joe’s body. “Joe, _enough!_ ”

 

“Bill, just get out of here,” Babe ordered while he pushed his best friend away from Joe, who was just barely being contained by Webster.  “You don’t want to do this.”

 

After another moment Babe managed to pushed Bill far enough out of the way that he was no longer in Joe’s reach. Babe gripped Bill’s shoulder to keep him in place before he turned to look at Joe and Webster.

 

“Honestly, Joe, we didn’t know,” Babe repeated while Joe fumed. “Web, we’re sorry.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard,” Joe grumbled before he broke out of Webster’s slackening grip. “Just give me my shit so we can get out of here.”

 

Babe motioned to where he had dropped their mixed belongings on the beach. Joe snatched up his items and sent Bill one more withering glare before he grabbed Webster by the hand and began pulling him off the beach.

 

“Okay but can you blame me for thinkin’ that a kid who talks about the ocean and sharks half the time could fucking swim?” Bill asked Babe while the other two were just within earshot.

 

“Shut the fuck up, Bill,” Babe sighed before he scooped up Bill’s things from the beach and shoved them into his arms. “Or I’m gonna finish what Liebgott started.”

 

 

The news of the incident at the beach spread quickly, not only to the residents of Hanks House but across campus. While some people felt that everything Bill had done was extremely wrong, everyone else realized that it had been a mistake, a prank gone wrong, and knew that Bill would never actually want to do real harm to Webster.

 

Unfortunately, the news of the incident spread to the university as well. When the incident was coupled with the almost staggering number of incident reports and disciplinary actions filed from Hanks House, the administration realized that they needed to step in.

 

Dick Winters stared at the email that was displayed on his computer screen. He had just gotten through talking to Liebgott and Webster and then Guarnere and Heffron about the incident and now he sat alone in his dorm room. Outside of his room everything was loud as usual- music blaring, obnoxious noises curtesy of several different video games playing at once, the occasional shout or swear, usually accompanied by laughter from someone else –inside of his room, however, everything was oddly silent. All he could focus on was the bright computer screen in front of him.

 

“Well… crap,” Dick muttered as his eyes scanned the email for the third time in five minutes, as if something had miraculously changed.

 

“Hey, Dick,” Lewis said in greeting as he walked into the room. “Did you hear what happened to Web?”

 

“Yeah I heard,” Dick answered while he continued to stare at the computer screen. “Talked to Bill, Joe, Babe, and David about it already. I can’t technically do anything about it, disciplinary wise, since it was outside of the dorm but I’ve talked to them. Hopefully we can get everything straightened out and civil soon.”

 

“Trying to get Bill and Liebgott to behave? Yeah okay, good luck with that,” Nix huffed as he sat down on the edge of Dick’s bed. He frowned when Dick stayed focused on his computer in front of him. “Dick, what’s up?”

 

“Nothing,” Dick replied quickly as he minimized the window and turned to look at Lewis with a flat expression.

 

“Dick,” Lewis said as he got up from the bed and stepped across the room to Dick, “something’s up. You couldn’t look away from your computer.” Lewis placed a gentle hand on Dick’s shoulder. “What’s the matter?”

 

Dick let out a sigh before he turned back to his computer and opened up the window again. Lewis bent down to read the email. The more he read the more confused and angry he felt. Once he finished the email he turned to look at Dick.

 

“A disciplinary meeting? For _you_?” Lewis asked, aghast. “What the hell are they talking about, Dick?”

 

“You read the email,” Dick muttered as he closed the window completely and closed his laptop; he was sick of staring at the stupid email from the university. “They want to talk to me about all the recent disciplinary actions I’ve had to put in…and they want to know why these things are being allowed to happen in the first place.”

 

“Shouldn’t they be rounding up all the people who are getting written up?” Nixon asked. “Why are you getting in trouble for doing your job?”

 

“That’s the thing, Lew. They don’t think I’m doing my job,” Dick clarified before he let out a long sigh. “To be honest, I don’t even know if I’m doing my job, at least not as well as I should be doing it.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Have you seen this floor, Lew?” Dick asked as he gestured toward his closed dorm room door. “I’m filling out disciplinary forms every day. I had to fill out a service request because someone broke half the showerheads in the bathroom because people keep trying to put things in there to prank people. It’s a madhouse. It has been for weeks.”

 

“It’s not just this floor though. It’s this whole dorm,” Lewis explained. “I don’t see why you’re getting thrown under the bus if Andy and Brad and Lena aren’t.”

 

“Probably has something to do with what happened with Webster,” Dick muttered. “Joe said that when they went to the student health center after they explained what happened. It probably got back to the university.”

 

“But that’s not fucking fair. That didn’t happen in the dorm, that shouldn’t be on you,” Lewis continued, feeling more outraged by the second. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize that being their R.A. meant being their fucking parent.”

 

“Lew, don’t get upset over this-”

 

“Why shouldn’t I? It’s not fair. You don’t deserve this kind of shit.”

 

“This may be unfair but you can’t deny the fact that I’ve let a lot of things go over this year. I haven’t been doing everything that I should be doing. Andy, Brad, and Lena, I’m sure they’ve let some things go through the cracks but I’ve been letting more go,” Dick explained calmly. “Maybe if I had been more on the ball, what happened down at the pier today with Webster and Guarnere wouldn’t have happened-”

 

“Dick that wasn’t your fault-”

 

“But I can’t help but feel like it is, Lew,” Dick insisted before he calmed down and continued. “I’ll go to this meeting tomorrow. I’ll hear what they have to say and if they’re reasonable then I’ll take my punishment.”

 

“And what if they’re not reasonable? What if they give you some bullshit treatment? What are you gonna do then?”

 

“I don’t know,” Dick answered after a long pause. “But I’ll handle it, whatever comes my way. Just don’t worry about it, Lew.”

 

“That’s asking a lot, Dick,” Nix said with a hint of a smile. “Asking me not to be worried about you? It comes with the territory.”

 

“Well just don’t make a big deal about it,” Dick amended. “Just between you and me okay? I don’t want everyone to find out about this.”

 

While Lewis understood why Dick wanted to do this on his own, do it straightforward with no fuss, Nix couldn’t help but think about how unfair it was for Dick to go through this all on his own. So what if he let some things slide? He wasn’t the only one. He wasn’t the one causing all the incidents and damages either. Dick didn’t deserve to go through this and he definitely didn’t deserve to go through this alone. Nixon wasn’t going to let him.

 

* * *

 

 

When Merriell arrived back at the dorm Thursday evening he was surprised to find that the usual chaos of the fifth floor had somehow managed to get worse; after the last few weeks he figured the only way things could get worse was if the dorm caught on fire. He didn’t stop to listen or figure out what things were worse, he just wanted to throw his shit in his room and sleep away the headache that had formed after his math exam.

 

“What the fuck,” Merriell grumbled when he reached his room and found the door closed and locked. Usually everyone kept their doors unlocked but after everything, more and more decided to keep things locked up. Shelton didn’t blame Joe for being cautious, was even a little glad for it, but he couldn’t help the irritation that formed when he realized that he had to dig out his keys from the bottom of his backpack. “Joe, you in there?” Merriell called out as he knocked on the door. “Joe I can fucking hear you, let me in.”

 

After a moment of struggling to locate his keys, Merriell opened the door and almost immediately had the door closed right in his face.

 

“What the fuck, Joe?” Merriell growled.

 

“It’s not a good time, Snaf,” Joe snapped through the door. “Come back later.”

 

“Come back later? You can’t fucking tell me that, this is my fucking room too,” he persisted. “What? Are you guys fucking or something? Because if you are I’m gone.”

 

“Yeah, we’re fucking, now go,” Liebgott’s terse voice said.

 

“No we aren’t, Joe,” Webster’s voice said exasperatedly.

 

“Shut up, Web,” Joe hissed.

 

“Well in that case,” Shelton said before he shouldered open the door.

 

Merriell entered the room to find Web and Joe, both looking as if they had just gotten out of the shower, both with sopping wet hair and dressed in dry sweats or pajamas. Joe looked angry, which wasn’t a surprise, and Web looked upset and exhausted, which was a little surprising.

 

“Where’s the party?” Shelton asked as he let his book bag drop to the floor.

 

“Seriously, Snafu, do you mind?” Joe asked, irritated. “We’re in the middle of a conversation here.”

 

“Fine,” Merriell huffed. “But only cus I need a smoke. When I get back though, I’m taking a nap.”

 

“Why can’t you just nap in your boyfriend’s room?” Joe asked.

 

“Why can’t you just have your little conversation in _your_ boyfriend’s room?” he quipped before he exited the room, closing the door a little harder than necessary.

 

Cigarettes and lighter in hand, Merriell headed for the stairwell and the hopefully unoccupied roof. Once he reached the top of the stairs, he frowned at the brick that had already been put in place to keep the door propped open. Ignoring the urge to yank the brick out and turn around, leaving whoever was on the roof stranded, Shelton opened the door and walked out onto the roof.

 

“Of course,” Merriell murmured as he stared at the back of the lone figure who stood on the other side of the roof.

 

With his eyes locked on the familiar figure on the other side of the roof, Merriell purposely made as much sound as he kicked the brick back into place and adjusted the screechy metal door into the proper position.

 

“Shelton, is that you? Making such a racket over there?” Gene asked before he turned to look over his shoulder, half-smoked cigarette in hand. “You trying to wake the dead?”

 

“Just makin’ sure I don’t scare you and make you jump right over the edge,” Merriell said as he walked across the graveled roof toward his friend. “Heffron’d never forgive me if I caused you to tumble to your doom.”

 

“How considerate of you,” he said as Merriell stopped next to him.

 

Gene watched as Merriell tapped out a cigarette from his own pack and lit it with a practiced flick of his zippo lighter. He waited until Shelton had taken a drag of his cigarette before he spoke.

 

“So…how have things been going?” Gene asked vaguely.

 

Shelton didn’t answer, instead he gave Gene a look and continued on with his smoking.

 

“Just haven’t gotten to see or talk to you much,” Gene elaborated before a tiny smile pulled at the corner of his lips, “not since you and Sledge got together.” Merriell ducked his head and made a show of tapping the excess ash off of the end of his cigarette but he didn’t respond. Gene pressed on gently. “So how are things going with you two?”

 

“Good. They’re fine,” Merriell answered tersely. “Why you asking?”

 

“No need to get defensive, Merriell,” Gene responded calmly. “Just trying to be friendly.”

 

“Well you can stop now,” he snapped. “Everything’s good.”

 

Gene watched as Merriell folded his arms on top of the concrete slab in front of him and slumped on top of the perimeter wall. The two were silent until Merriell had burned through his first cigarette and flicked the bud out into the air.

 

“If you don’t stop staring at me soon, Gene, we’re gonna have a problem here,” Shelton warned as he pulled out his pack of cigarettes and tapped out a second. “Just spit it out: what do you want?”

 

Gene couldn’t help but smirk at Merriell’s pissy attitude. It was just like when they were kids.

 

“I ain’t got nothing to say, Merriell, I’m waiting on you,” Gene said, still smiling.

 

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

 

“I know you, Merriell, you can’t hide from me. It’s clear as day that something’s eating away at you so why don’t you just stop wasting time and spit it out already so I can go back downstairs.”

 

Shelton glared at him for a moment before he turned back to stare ahead of him and at the setting sun; Gene’s ability to get into his head like no other really irritated Merriell.

 

Of course Gene was right. There was something eating away at him. The problem was that Merriell had no idea how to verbalize what the fuck was wrong; same shit as usual. Merriell wanted to stay closed off, keep his thoughts and emotions shut inside him where they could fester like he always had done in the past. But no, he couldn’t be like that anymore. He couldn’t keep purposely fucking up anymore. If he had an issue, he couldn’t run away from it or bury it deep down anymore, he needed to confront it like a normal adult. Merriell came all the way out here to California make a positive change in himself and dammit, he was going to do it, even if it killed him to do it.

 

Shelton pushed himself off of the wall so that he was standing straight while his hands gripped at the rough concrete slabs that made up the wall. He forced out a harsh breath through his nose before he tried to put words to what he felt.

 

“What’s it like with you and Heffron?” Merriell asked.

 

Gene gave him a questioning look; clearly that wasn’t where Gene had expected him to go. Truthfully that wasn’t exactly where Merriell wanted to start but he wasn’t sure how else to start.

 

“I mean…how does it feel now that you’re together compared to when you guys weren’t?” Merriell struggled. “Did you, um, feel like you had to change how you acted now that you weren’t just friends or…?”

 

In an attempt to calm himself down, find a moment where he could organize his thoughts, Merriell pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit a new one. Gene, determined to not scare Merriell away now that he was starting to open up, kept silent but supportive; he couldn’t judge him Shelton for fighting to get the right words out, he had never felt as if he had a particular way with words so he understood the struggle his friend was feeling right now.

 

“Things between me and Eugene, they’re great. We’re having a good time. It’s just like before actually, we hang out together and he’s tutoring me again and it’s nice and I like it,” Merriell continued awkwardly before he stopped abruptly.

 

“But?” Gene asked cautiously, trying to help his friend move along.

 

“But…I don’t know,” Shelton admitted quietly. “It kinda feels like how things were when we were _just_ friends. I mean, not _everything_ is just like before, cus we do things that people who are just friends _don’t_ do,” Merriell clarified while he gave Gene a wide smile and a wink; Gene rolled his eyes in response before he watched the jaunty smile slide right off of Shelton’s face. “I don’t know. I just thought things might be different…things would feel more like we were a couple. Did you feel that way when you and Heffron got together?”

 

“Oh,” Gene nodded as the pieces of Merriell’s stumbling puzzle slowly came together in his mind.  “So you’re worried about acting like a proper couple?”

 

“I’m worried about fucking this up,” Merriell admitted quietly, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off of his chest. “What if I don’t act like how Eugene expects a boyfriend to act and he ditches me because of it? I don’t know how to act…”

 

“You’re not gonna fuck this up,” Gene said firmly.

 

“How do you know something like that? You claim you know me so well, when have I not fucked something up?”

 

“I know because I see the way he looks at you and acts with you, even before you two got your shit together. He’s happy,” Gene continued. “Sure, you might have messed things up in the past but now you’re trying and I’m sure Sledge can see that.” Gene watched as Merriell tore at the edge of his cigarette box for a moment before he continued. “And when it comes to romance and all that, I really don’t think there’s one right way to do it. Me and Babe, we don’t go out on fancy dates or are overly affectionate-”

 

“Are you sure about that? Because half the time I see you guys I get this nauseous feeling.”

 

“Don’t be mean, Shelton, I’m trying to help you,” Gene warned.

 

“Sorry,” Merriell muttered. “Continue.”

 

“The point I’m trying to get at is that if you’re happy with the way things are right now, why try to force change. Based off of what I’ve seen when you’re together, you both seem fine with how things are,” Gene concluded. “And if it’s really bugging you, talk to Eugene about it. But don’t sweat it. Not every couple is stereotypically affectionate. Look at Andy and Eddie.”

 

“Wait, what?” Shelton asked, momentarily derailed. “Andy and Eddie are together? Like a couple?”

 

“Yeah, didn’t you know?”

 

“Hell no. Was I supposed to?”

 

“Well… there you go. Some couples are more obvious and open about it than others,” Gene shrugged before he moved back to his original point. “Merriell, don’t over think it. If you ask me, you and Sledge are doing just fine.”

 

“Thanks,” Merriell muttered while he ducked his head down, feeling embarrassed.

 

“Anytime.”

 

Just as Merriell went to put his cigarettes and lighter back inside of his pants pockets, his cell phone gave a chirp that only came with a new text message. Merriell pulled his phone from his pocket, read the text, and smiled.

 

“Eugene?” Roe asked knowingly.

 

“Yeah. He’s gonna go get some food. Wants to know if I wanna come along,” Merriell answered.

 

“Well what are you doing standing around up here?” Gene smiled. “Go.”

 

“Yeah,” Shelton nodded before he typed a quick response to Eugene. “Of course.”

 

Together, Merriell and Gene exited the roof and walked back down the flight of stairs to the fifth floor while Gene’s words still bounced around Merriell’s mind. Sure, a part of him still felt incredibly unsure and felt as if it were only a matter of time before he majorly fucked up but another part of him, maybe even a larger part of him, believed Gene’s words.

 

He was trying. He and Eugene, they were both happy. He wasn’t going to fuck this up.

 

* * *

 

 

“We’ve got a problem,” Nixon declared as he closed the door to the study room behind him.

 

“We know that, that’s why we came,” Brad said as he leaned against one of the walls instead of taking a seat at the table. “Now are you going to tell us what the problem is or do we have to guess?”

 

“Right now Dick’s getting his ass handed to him by the school administration because the people in this dorm can’t get their shit together,” Nixon explained.

 

“What?” Andy asked, confused.

 

“What do you mean Dick’s ‘getting his ass handed to him’?” Lena asked.

 

“After everything that’s been going on these past few weeks and everything that happened with Webster yesterday, the administration emailed Dick because they think he’s letting this dorm go to shit,” Lewis elaborated. “Right now he’s in some meeting and they’re probably deciding if he’s gonna be removed from his R.A. position.”

 

“Get rid of Dick?” Andy asked. “They’re crazy.”

 

“And completely unfair and uncalled for,” Lena added. “Dick has been doing his job.”

 

“He thinks differently,” Lewis muttered. “He thinks that he hasn’t been doing his job as well as he could have. He feels like he should have had a stricter hand with all these pranks going on so he’s letting them have it out with him.”

 

“Well he does have a point,” Brad commented, causing the other three to turn and stare at him. “He has let a lot of people through the cracks when it comes to discipline. Frankly all of you have. I’m the only one who’s kept this bullshit under control these last few weeks.”

 

“Sorry we can’t all be as fucking perfect as you, Colbert,” Lewis said, deadpan.

 

“Brad does have a point though,” Andy agreed. “We’ve all let things through the cracks. We’ve all let things go. Every R.A. on campus has for Christ sakes. It’s not fair that Dick’s getting punished when we aren’t.”

 

“And before you claim to be oh so perfect, Brad, I know you’ve let Person get away with shit all the time so don’t even start,” Lena said, smugly.

 

“I have never and would never pass up an opportunity to chew Person out and slap him with swift disciplinary action,” Brad said stiffly.

 

“Okay but as his roommate, I’m sure you see _a lot_ of shit and let it go instead of stopping him before it happens,” Lena pointed out. “So in that way, you do let things go.”

 

“You just wait until it happens so that you can punish him,” Andy said before he smirked and added, “Do you get off on that sort of thing, Brad? Punishing Ray?”

 

To be honest, Nixon was surprised Andy didn’t drop dead right then and then from the look Brad gave him.

 

“Come on, Brad, admit it. Everyone has chinks in their armor and that hyperactive runt is yours,” Nixon said, smiling.

 

“Well I still have no idea what you’re talking about, I do think it’s completely unfair for them to punish Dick for what happed down at the pier,” Colbert admitted. “Winters is their R.A. not their fucking parent. He shouldn’t be held accountable for shit that happened outside of the dorm.”

 

“Okay, good, so now that we’re all on the same page,” Lewis started, “I’m gonna find out where Dick stands after this meeting of his and then we can plan the specifics of…whatever it is that we’re doing. Dick mentioned there might be a hearing after this meeting or they might have made their decision today but either way, we need to wait for now.”

 

“So let’s say that Winters gets demoted or they plan on holding a hearing to possibly demote him, what exactly do you suggest we do? Sure we have the argument that they’re unfairly treating him but what sort of leverage do we have? Just because we have a point doesn’t mean they’re gonna listen to us.”

 

“If they demote Dick… we’ll threaten to step down too,” Andy responded almost immediately.

 

“You would really do that?” Brad asked.

 

“It wouldn’t be fair if Dick gets punished for doing the same damn things we’re doing. I wouldn’t feel right continuing to serve as an R.A. while Dick’s demoted,” Andy continued firmly. “It wouldn’t be right.”

 

“Andy’s right,” Lena agreed. “I couldn’t keep doing it either. It wouldn’t be fair.”

 

Slowly, Andy and Lena turned to look at Brad expectantly. After a long moment, Brad let out a long, low sigh, and gave in.

 

“Fine,” Brad relented. “I’ll step down too.”

 

“Way to be a part of the team, Brad,” Lewis said flatly. Brad gave a microscopic eye roll in response. “Okay so, for now we just need to wait and see what Dick says- he should be done with the meeting soon- and then we can move on from there.”

 

Together, the four of them exited the study room and stepped out into the chaos that was the common room.

 

Sisk and Walt, who now sported magnificently obnoxious bubblegum pink hair, crouched behind one of the couches while they sprayed cans of silly string at Runner and Chuckler, whose faces were covered in intricate magic marker drawings while they defended themselves with a couple of dollar store water pistols. There was a loud, angry shout from down the hall and a moment later Johnny Martin stomped down the hall from the laundry room with one of his shirts in hand.

 

“Who the fuck put glitter in my washing machine?” Johnny growled as he held up his bedazzled t-shirt for the entire room to see. “I’m fucking sick of this shit.”

 

Four floors up Lewis could hear an air horn go off and someone screamed in surprised.

 

This shit had been funny in the beginning, a nice source of entertainment to break up the monotony of the day but now- it would be months before his other eyebrow grew back in, Dick might wrongfully get removed from his resident advisor position, Webster almost fucking drowned –now everything had gone too far and it needed to end.

 

“Okay, this shit has got to stop!” Nixon declared, causing everyone to stop and stare at the usually mellow man. “These idiot pranks have gone on long enough.”

 

Annoyed with all the eyes staring at him, Nixon turned on his heal and headed for the stairs; he’d wait for Dick upstairs. Instead of waiting in his own room, Nixon headed straight for Dick’s room to wait; the sooner he found out what was the verdict was the sooner he could act. Luckily he didn’t have to wait long for Dick to return; fifteen minutes later and Dick entered his room, unsurprised at the image of Nixon sitting on the edge of his bed, waiting for him.

 

Lewis watched Dick for a sign, something that would give away how things went without having to ask. Dick’s face was neutral but as he sat down next to Lewis, the façade dropped slightly and suddenly he looked very tired.

 

Not good news.

 

“So,” Lewis asked calmly while he tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach, “what’s the verdict?”

 

“No verdict yet,” Dick answered. “I have a hearing tomorrow morning where they’ll formally decide if I’ll be demoted or not. Right now I guess I’m technically on probation.”

 

“Well I guess it could be worse, huh?” Lewis said, trying to be positive. “They could have canned you right then and there.”

 

“I sort of wish they did,” Dick responded quietly.

 

“What? Why?”

 

“Because if they did it today…I would know. I’d know how this ends, good or bad, but now I have to wait a whole other day for them to kick me to the curb.”

 

“Hey, they aren’t gonna fire you,” Lewis insisted. “You’re gonna be fine.”

 

“I don’t know,” Dick muttered. “The way they were talking, I just feel like I already know their decision.”

 

“Why do you say that? What were they saying?”

 

“They’re making a real big deal out of what happened to Webster,” Dick sighed. “Kept saying how if something serious had happened to him it would be a PR disaster for the university-”

 

“What the hell? That’s what they care about? How the school looks?” Nixon asked, outraged. “That shit happened out of the dorms. You’re not a babysitter.”

 

“Yeah, well… they also compared the number of disciplinary actions and accident reports I’ve filed over the semester compared to other dorms and they have a reason to worry. There is a bit of a discrepancy, Lew.”

 

“So? Just because the guys on your floor are a bunch of shits doesn’t mean that you should be blamed.”

 

“They said that if I had been more firm, less of their friend, that they wouldn’t feel like they could get away with so much or that if they did something, my consequences wouldn’t have be as bad as some other R.A.”

 

“So they’re punishing you because your friends with your residents? That’s bullshit.”

 

“I don’t regret the way I ran things,” Dick said with a tired smile. “Perhaps I could have been a little firmer recently, maybe could have saved you an eyebrow.”

 

“ _Hey,”_ Lewis pouted as Dick reached out to brush at the hairless patch of skin above his eye.

 

“I did my duty the way I thought I should and, for the most part, I’m happy with how I acted. I wouldn’t change a thing. If they want to punish me for it-”

 

“You’re gonna be fine, Dick,” Lewis cut him off firmly as he reached out and gripped one of Dick’s hands with his own. “I’m sure of it.”

 

* * *

 

 

It truly showed how desperate of a situation this was that Lewis Nixon was awake, fully dressed, and out of bed before the sun had fully risen in the sky. Standing just outside the backend of Hanks House, lit cigarette in hand, Nixon shivered in the chilly early morning air dressed in only one of Dick’s worn hoodies from his high school days. Although Lewis would probably claim he was a non-drinker before he claimed to be a morning person, he had to admit that there was something beautiful about being up when the sky was a soft grey and the only sounds came from the local wildlife and the nearby ocean. He could maybe see why Dick willingly woke up this early; he could see it but Nixon would much rather be going to bed right now after a night out than be waking up now.

 

Lewis crushed his finished cigarette underneath the heel of his shoe while he checked his cell phone for the time; it was just past seven in the morning. Dick’s hearing wasn’t until nine and he and the other R.A.’s weren’t going to be headed over to the administration building where his hearing was being held until eight. Lewis could have stayed in bed and got another hour or two of sleep, but he didn’t want to risk being caught and questioned by Dick for being up so early. He felt bad, having Dick wake up alone without him there to support him but hopefully this matter wouldn’t take too long and they would have things sorted before Dick even left the dorm.

 

“I’m impressed you actually managed to drag yourself out of bed this early,” Brad said sometime later as he joined Lewis outside of the building, Andy and Lena following behind him.

 

“Sometimes I even impress myself,” Nixon grumbled; he had already grown tired of the quiet beauty of the early morning and was ready for either a long nap or a stiff drink. “Let’s go and get this over with.”

 

“That’s the spirit,” Andy said brightly as he patted Nixon on the back.

 

It only took a few silent minutes to walk across campus to their destination. Once inside, it only took a minutes fumbling around to locate the desired room. The door to the board room was cracked open and Lewis could hear voices trickling out from inside. Lewis checked his watch; it was ten to eight o’clock. Would everyone attending the hearing be here this early? Suddenly his plan didn’t seem as perfect as it had yesterday.

 

“Hey, so even if this plan completely goes to shit,” Lewis said as they stood outside the room, “I just wanted to say thanks, for throwing your necks all out on the line for Dick. It means a lot to me. And I know it’ll mean a lot to him when he finds out.”

 

“It’s no problem, Lewis,” Lena said. “I know that if things were switched, Dick would do the same for any one of us in a heartbeat.”

 

“It’s part of the job,” Andy said with a smile.

 

“We ready?” Brad asked as he glanced down the empty hallway.

 

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Lena signed.

 

“Well then let’s get this over with,” Brad said before he reached out and knocked loudly and firmly on the thick wooden door.

 

After a pause and a slightly confused call to come inside, Brad pushed open the doors and walked inside like he owned the place; Andy and Lena followed after him while Lewis chose to stay behind in the hall. He may have gotten them all together to fight this fight but he didn’t have any leverage in this battle. He felt helpless and a little bit like a coward but Lewis figured it was better to stay back and wait.

 

Before Lewis moved behind the doors in the hallway, he was able to get a good look of who was there for the hearing. There were five people sitting at the table placed at the end of the room, four of them middle aged. Nixon recognized only two of the people seated at the table: the university president, Sink, who sat at the center of the table, and a man in his middle twenties with black hair, slicked back. His name was Sobel. He was the Hall director for Hanks House and Lewis only knew of him because of how much Dick complained about the man. Apparently he gave Dick a hard time whenever he entered any sort of disciplinary action or an incident report; who could blame Dick for not reporting everything when it had to go through such an asshole of a person?

 

“Can we help you?” Sink asked as he stared at Brad, Lena, and Andy.

 

“Sir, we’re here to talk to you about the hearing for Dick Winters,” Brad began in a calm but firm voice. “Sir, we know that it was probably classified information but we, Winters’ fellow resident advisors of Hanks House, found out he was possibly being punished and we wanted to talk to you all before you made a final decision.”

 

“This isn’t exactly orthodox-,” Sobel piped up loudly before Sink stopped him with a wave of his hand.

 

“We’ve got time before Winters is due to show,” Sink said. “Why not let them speak.”

 

“Are you serious, sir?” Sobel asked, looking like a deer in headlights.

 

“Yes I am, Herbert. This is America and hearing testimonies from both sides is part of the judicial process,” Sink said as he sat back in his padded arm chair. “Let them speak.”

 

“Sir, it’s come to our attention that the issue that’s bringing everyone here today on this Saturday morning is because of an incident that not only occurred outside of the dorms but off campus entirely,” Brad began. “In my opinion resident advisors should not be punished for incidents that occur outside of the dorm. Nowhere in the resident advisors handbook does it say anything about dealing with issues outside of the dorm.”

 

“Yes, well, the incidents that occurred at the lake only came to pass because of a lack of control back at the dorm.”

 

It was not Sink who spoke up, but Sobel.

 

“It is my belief that if Winters had had a _firmer hand_ around the dorm the incident at the pier would not have occurred,” Sobel continued.

 

“How much firmer of a hand should Winters have had?” Lena asked, voice strong and unwavering. “Because it is my understanding that Winters has put in place the proper disciplinary actions as often as he could. In my opinion, Winters had as firm of a hand as possible.”

 

“Well… it is _my_ belief that many _, many_ instances of misconduct went unreported in the dorm and he should be punished for that. I mean, the fifth floor alone has more incident reports and maintenance requests put into the university than any other floor in any other dorm on the entire campus! Doesn’t that seem a little suspect to you all?”

 

“We don’t believe that Dick should be punished based off of the activities of the residents of his floor,” Andy spoke up. “Just because there are more incident reports and maintenance requests doesn’t mean that Dick isn’t doing his job. In my opinion, I think that that’s proof that Winters _is_ doing his job-.”

 

“ _Enough of this_. The point of this hearing, students, is to investigate claims that Dick Winters is not taking his position as resident advisor _seriously_ ,” Sobel exclaimed, voice just a little louder than necessary for the quiet board room. “It is my belief that Dick Winters has seen a number of improper instances occur on his floor and let them go unreported, which has created a toxic environment on his floor, where residents feel as if they can get away with anything. It’s anarchy and it needs to be corrected. If it means removing Winters from his position as resident advisor, then so be it but you’ll forgive us if we aren’t swayed by your _completely unbiased_ argument. We get you want your friend to keep his job but that’s not how it works in the _real world_ , so, if you would excuse us so we can get our things straightened out before the hearing starts. ”

 

Andy glanced at Brad and Lena. They both gave him a subtle nod. No going back.

 

“Well, if you think that Dick isn’t taking his position seriously, despite the evidence that says otherwise, maybe you should rethink our positions as resident advisors as well.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Sobel asked in confusion.

 

“We all got together and talked and we feel that no R.A. in Hanks House has done a better or worse job than the other,” Lena continued; she couldn’t help but glance at Brad through the corner of her eye and was pleased to see he hadn’t made any outward objections. “So if you’re going to demote Dick and question his abilities, well, we might as well step down too.”

 

“W-what now?”

 

“If Dick’s going then we are too,” Brad said simply. “It’ll even save you time. This way you won’t have to waste your days in hearings for all of us.”

 

“You can’t do this,” Sobel stumbled before he turned to look at Sink. “They can’t do this.”

 

“Technically they can,” Sink said, voice even but everyone could see a change in his expression; his brow was furrowed in what appeared to be deep concentration.

 

“We checked the rule book and yes, we can step down,” Lena continued. “We apologize we don’t have the official paperwork filled out yet but within in a day we’ll have it submitted.”

 

“The only thing we can’t do, Mr. Sobel, is continue our roles as resident advisors while Dick gets unfairly demoted,” Andy added.

 

“Sorry we disrupted you,” Brad said as he took a step backwards in preparation to leave. “We hope you have a good rest of the day-.”

 

“Wait, wait, _wait,”_ Sink exclaimed, standing up in his seat. “Hold up a minute.”

 

Lena, Brad, and Andy waited with baited breath as Sink stayed standing with his face downturned so that neither of them could read his expression. After a minute Sink raised his head, scanned the trio before he moved to look at Sobel, who looked extremely concerned.

 

“After this little discussion here…I’ve decided that these resident advisors have a point.”

 

“Sir?” Sobel croaked.

 

“It’s not Winters fault for what happened the other day down at the ocean and it would be wrong to punish him for that,” Sink continued. Sobel was frozen, looking as if he wanted to cut in and protest but seemed to have suddenly lost the ability to speak. “I’ve always personally felt that Winters has a good head on his shoulders and these students words just reinforce that idea. If you ask me, I say we all just forget about the hearing and the probation and let everyone go and enjoy their Saturday.”

 

“W-what? But sir-!”

 

“Herbert, I know you’re passionate about the comings and goings of Hanks House but I do believe it would be a little difficult to not only find one but four temporary resident advisors for the last month of classes.” Sink then turned to face the three resident advisors. “Feel free to pass along the message to Mr. Winters. We’ll be sending him an email later today with the official statement but why wait until then? Now go enjoy the rest of your weekend but do try to enjoy it within university regulations.”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

The three of them turned around and exited the room to find Lewis standing just outside the doors with a giddy smile on his face.

 

“I can’t believe that actually worked,” Lewis admitted as he let out a deep breath he had been holding the entire time Sink spoke.

 

“And yet you asked us to risk our reputations for a half-baked plan,” Brad said.

 

“You’re the ones who agreed to it.”

 

“What are you all doing here?”

 

The four of them turned around and watched as Dick walked towards them, looking completely confused in his pressed dress shirt and khakis.

 

“Saving you ass that’s what,” Lewis answered with a grin before he moved to meet Dick in the middle.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Uh, it was all them,” Lewis said as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards the three resident advisors. “Lena, Brad, and Andy, they talked to Sink and convinced him to reconsider your hearing. They were pretty persuasive. Even threatened to quit if you got canned.”

 

“What?” Dick asked as he looked at them in disbelief. “You guys…”

 

“Hey, it wasn’t our idea. None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for Lewis here,” Lena said. “He rounded us up yesterday and planned all this.”

 

“Lew,” Dick said softly as he turned his attention back to his boyfriend. “Lew, I told you that I could handle this on my own.”

 

“Yeah. And I know you could have handled this on your own. But you don’t have to,” Lewis explained. “I know you didn’t want people to know, Dick, and I swear I only told them, but I just couldn’t accept someone treating you so unfairly-”

 

Dick cut off the rest of Lewis’ words by pressing his mouth to Nixon’s.

 

“And this is where I take my leave,” Brad said dryly as he started to walk towards the exit.

 

“Thanks, Brad,” Dick said as he reached out and gently grasped his arm, stopping him. “Really.” Dick let his hand slip from Brad’s arm as he turned to look at Andy and Lena. “Thanks to all of you. I really appreciate it. I owe you guys.”

 

“No you don’t,” Brad said. “You would have done it for any of us.”

 

A moment later, the doors to the room reopened and out stomped Sobel, whose face was now a splotchy red color. Sobel only paused to flick a flat, cold stare at Dick before he hurried down the hall and to the exit.

 

“What the hell is that guy’s problem with you?” Lewis asked as the door closed on Sobel’s back.

 

“I’ll explain it later,” Dick said tiredly. “Harry knows. Ask him. Although Harry does have a tendency to over exaggerate stories, so maybe he wouldn’t be the best choice.”

 

The doors opened again and out walked Sink.

 

“So you’ve heard the good news then, Winters?” Sink asked as he glanced around at the group.

 

“Yes, sir, thank you, sir,” Dick said earnestly.

 

“I never wanted to have the hearing but I was persuaded into it,” Sink said tiredly. “I’m not too proud that I can’t admit when I was wrong and I was wrong on this. Sorry for the stress this may have put on you, Dick.”

 

“It’s fine, sir, don’t worry about it. I think I’ll be fine.”

 

“Good. You got a good head on your shoulders. You got a good group of friends here too. I think you’re gonna be just fine.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Let’s all raise a glass to the indestructible Dick Winters!” Buck exclaimed to the packed common room hours later, while he squeezed Dick’s shoulders from where he stood behind the man. The entire room exploded in applause and shouts and wolf whistles; Dick thought he heard something that sounded like party poppers go off but he didn’t want to know for sure. “There’s no getting rid of you- not that we would want to, Dick. We all love you.”

 

“Thanks, Buck,” Dick said as he smiled into his plastic cup of soda. “And I would still be your R.A. if it weren’t for Lew, Brad, Lena, and Andy.”

 

“A toast to Nix and all the R.A.’s!” Malarkey cheered; as instructed, the room exploded in another chorus of celebration.

 

After they returned to Hanks House this morning, the news quickly spread that Dick, and the rest of the resident advisors, almost lost their jobs because of the recent increase in antics around the dorm. It became common knowledge throughout the dorm within the hour that all pranks and feuds were to be put to a swift end. Partially done in celebration and partially done in apology, the residents of Hanks House quickly threw together a casual, completely rule-abiding party in the common room. Everyone, it seemed, was in attendance.

 

“Thanks guys, really, I appreciate but all I can ask is that you guys give me a little bit of an easier time from now on,” Dick said as he looked around at his boys who stood and sat around him. “All I’m asking is one last month of relative peace.”

 

“We’ll all try to be on our best behavior, Dick,” Luz promised.

 

“No promises though,” Ray pipped up from his spot next to Luz.

 

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

 

The party was definitely one of the tamest parties held this year within the confines of the old brick building, but it didn’t mean it was any less fun. After a series of rounds of foosball, Sledge and Shelton emerged undefeated champions of the dorm. The old twister mat that hadn’t been pulled out in months reemerged; the worst thing to come out of it was a couple bumps and bruises but the number of laughs and shouts of enjoyment outweighed them significantly. Someone contributed their copy of Rock Band and required gaming controls and after only an hour and a few almost perfect scores, Ray announced to the entire room that he, Walt, Babe, and Skip were going to drop out of school and form a band. In between the louder moments, there were stretches of relaxation and relative calm. Residents stretched out on couches and chairs and the floor, ate pizza, drank sodas, and talked normally. No one felt tense or worried about someone coming up behind them with a glitter bomb or an air horn, no one second guessed when someone offered them food or drink, finally it seemed there was some semblance of peace within the dorm.

 

Even after a few hours the party refused to wind down. Carwood couldn’t blame them. Everyone was desperate for a couple hours of peace and happiness after all the tension and stress of the last few weeks, knew that they would need this buffer before they were all forced to worry about final exams and term papers. Carwood scanned the crowded room and after a moment, his eyes landed on the red hair he was looking for.

 

“…I really hope we can all put this behind us,” Carwood could hear Dick speak; his back was turned and in front of him stood Bill and Liebgott, both looking a little uncomfortable but relatively civil. “I don’t want the incident to drive a wedge between the floor okay guys? We can talk about this more later if we need to. Anytime. Just come by my room.”

 

“We know, Dick,” Bill said with a nod of his head. “And I know I was an ass. I deserved every swing Joe gave me. And Joe, I never meant to do Web any real harm. If I had known-.”

 

“Jeez I got it Bill,” Joe sighed. “You’ve said it fifty times, we got it, you’re not that much of an asshole. We’re all so proud of you.”

 

“Okay, well, go and enjoy the party,” Dick said before he clapped both of them on their shoulders. “Let out any lasting frustration on a game of air hockey or something?”

 

“Hey, Bill, bet you me and Web can kick your ass at foosball,” Joe bragged as he backed away from Dick and moved farther into the fray. “Why don’t you go grab a partner so we can prove it to you.”

 

“Oh I don’t need a partner. I can kick your asses all by myself…”

 

Dick turned around with a small smile on his face that only grew larger when he spotted Lipton standing behind him.

 

“Carwood,” Dick greeted him pleasantly. “I was hoping to bump into you. I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

 

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you too, Dick.”

 

“How about we go somewhere a little quieter?” Dick suggested.

 

Together Dick and Lipton wove through the crowds and the chaos of the common room until they had reached the relative quiet of the study room. Dick closed the door behind him before he sat down in one of the many chairs, Lipton followed his move.

 

“So, I was talking to Ron the other day and he mentioned that you _were_ interested in applying to become a resident advisor next year,” Dick began.

 

“Yeah, yeah I’ve been thinking it over,” Lipton said.

 

“Well not everyone has the necessary qualities to become a R.A. and despite what some people believe, it really is a lot of work,” Dick continued. “But if you ask me, if anyone in this dorm has the needed abilities to step up and lead the residents, it’s you, Carwood.”

 

“Thank you,” he mumbled humbly; he never did take compliments well.

 

“Now, this job is very rewarding at times but you can also run into weeks like these, where everything just seems to go wrong. And while I sincerely hope, if you were to become a R.A., that you never have to deal with a week as bad as this, you have to take it into consideration when you apply. Do you think you’re willing to deal with all this? All the paperwork and extra effort?” Dick concluded seriously.

 

“Well, not all of us are as criminally opposed to paperwork as you are,” Lipton joked which elicited a chuckle from Dick.

 

“My R.A. last year did not warn me of the horrors of the bureaucracy behind this job. So, what do you think?”

 

Even through the thick glass of the study room, Carwood could make out the shouts and laughter from the other side of the first floor. Right now he was sure that Bill and Joe were locked in a battle to the death over the foosball table and he couldn’t help wonder if sometime today Ray Person would actually manage to shatter glass with his attempts to hit the highest of notes. The entire dorm was a mess, either from the party on the first floor or from the several weeks of glitter bombs, shaving cream and water gun fights, and various dyes in the showers and hair products. Lipton was sure that after this party Dick would end up staying up a couple extra hours, filling out forms and reports and emails with various members of the university staff. He could understand why many people considered the resident advisor position suicide.

 

“Yes,” Lipton said firmly. “I’ve decided to apply. Just need to finish one or two things on the application still but I’m gonna do it.”

 

He could also understand why a handful of students every year wanted the position.

 

“That’s great, Carwood,” Dick exclaimed genuinely. “I’m really proud of you. Any guy who ends up with you as their R.A. is gonna be one lucky kid.”

 

“I might not get it, Dick,” Lipton reminded him. “Just because you apply doesn’t mean you get it.”

 

“Oh you’ll get it for sure,” Dick insisted. “You’re gonna be great, Carwood.”

 

“Thanks, Dick.”

 

While a part of Lipton still felt hesitant at the idea of accepting so much responsibility, another part, a much stronger and larger part of himself chose to believe in what Ron and Dick told him, what his mother had been telling him his whole life, that he was capable of so much more. He just needed the courage to take the opportunity.

 

Lipton was going to make people proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ta-dah. hope this chapter was half decent. I really struggled to write portions of it but I think in the end things turned out alright (idk you can tell me it sucked i won't blame you)
> 
> just an fyi, the next chapter is probably also going to be a bit of a wait, seeing as i'm trying to focus on school again so i can stay in my study abroad program and i'm going to be spending all of May in Europe so I won't really be able to write then :/ Sorry but I'll try my best to make the wait maybe a little less than this
> 
> Also, fyi, it's my birthday today (the 9th) and I'm turning 21 so I'm gonna go party all weekend


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The residents of Hanks House react to the last week of the school year in different ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've said this for like, every update over the past two years but I really am sorry for this horrendous wait. Once again I decided to try and put my school work ahead of my writing so I didn't have time to write at all last semester but I did end up making Dean's list both semesters of my junior year so there's that. Also immediately after the semester ended I went on my month long study abroad trip across Europe which was so fucking amazing I still can't believe I got to go on it (I got to go to Normandy for a week and I cried in an airborne museum there because they had an interview with Dick Winters playing and I was not prepared...) But the second I got home I started working on this so that I could get it up as soon as humanly possible.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy it and I hope that there aren't too many horrible grammar mistakes

* * *

Late April brought an interesting air to Pacific Coast University, a mixture of extreme stress and intense laziness. Half of the students of PCU headed into the end of the semester with their noses pressed firmly to the grindstone and with an extra-large coffee in hand while they prepared to take on their exams that were about to begin any day now. The latter half of the student body couldn’t be bothered to study or care about classes anymore, not now when it was finally warm again and people were counting down the hours until the semester ended. The end result of this was that somehow, both the quad and all of the libraries on campus were packed. A few optimistic students took their text books and notes outside onto the quad in an attempt to have it all, even though they knew deep down that their study materials would be ignored before the end of the hour.

 

“Bob,” Vera warned quietly while she continued to focus on the page of notes she had laid out in front of her.

 

“Sorry,” Leckie said with a shake of his head before he focused back on the book he had in front of him; it had been opened up to the same page for the past twenty minutes. He had read the first paragraph six times already but nothing stuck.

 

“You’re the one who suggested we come out here to study instead of going to the library,” Vera reminded him while she highlighted something in her notebook, seemingly unaffected by the beautiful weather and the joyful screaming in the background.

 

“I know but…” Leckie huffed before he turned his head back up to stare at the scene that was going on behind Vera, “that was before they decided to tag along and not study.”

 

“Are you surprised though?”

 

On the patch of grass a few feet away from the table Vera and Leckie sat at, Hoosier, Chuckler, and Runner loudly played some game that seemed a hybrid of Frisbee and tackle football. Leckie watched with mild amusement as Runner hurriedly flung the Frisbee in his hand away from himself right before Chuckler full on tackled the smaller man to the ground. All three of their book bags sat neglected on the ground next to the table.

 

“You could go join them if you want,” Vera said with a smile. “I’m sure you’re caught up enough with classes that you could take an hour off.”

 

“I’m good actually,” Leckie snorted.

 

“What, too mature to play with your buddies?”

 

“No. More like not insane enough,” Leckie said as he looked back up and watched as Hoosier flung the Frisbee with force, missing Chuckler’s family jewels by about an inch. “I’m not messing around with those animals. Hoosier fights dirty and Runner may be small but he’s ferocious. Sort of like a Chihuahua.”

 

Vera turned around in her seat and watched the three friends play for a moment before she turned back to Leckie, looking confused.

 

“What game are they even playing?”

 

“No idea. I’ve learned by now that it’s best not to ask questions.”

 

“Heads up!” Chuckler exclaimed with wide eyes.

 

Leckie lunged forward, grabbed Vera’s shoulder, and quickly moved the both of them so that they were almost flat against the table. A second later the Frisbee went whizzing over their heads with force.

 

“Hey, watch it!” Leckie yelled as he sprung up from the table. “You almost took her head off!”

 

“Leck-I’m sorry. Vera,” Chuckler began to apologize, looking sincere. “I didn’t mean-”

 

Chuckler’s apology tapered off into nothing as Vera sat up and began to laugh. The four men stared at her in varying states of confusion. Leckie watched Vera get up from her seat, walk around the table to where the Frisbee had landed and pick it up. When she turned around to face them again, she had a devious smile on her face.

 

“You know, I think I could do with a break,” Vera said as she turned the Frisbee over in her hands. “What do you say, Bob?”

 

“No tackling,” Leckie said as he turned to address Hoosier, Chuckler, and Runner.

 

“Oh, what? Afraid I can’t handle it?” Vera asked as she raised her eyebrows at Leckie.

 

“No, no,” Leckie said as he got up from his seat and stepped away from the table. “Frankly, I’m more worried about how they would handle you. You _are_ surprisingly rough-”

 

“Hey! Do you mind, Leckie?” Hoosier called out in annoyance. “I can feel my lunch trying to make a second appearance. Now how about you nut up or shut up.”

 

Leckie turned around to respond to Hoosier but before he could get a word out, the Frisbee whizzed right past his left ear and right over Runner’s head. The smaller man jumped up and grabbed the Frisbee out of the air with surprisingly fast reflexes.

 

“How do I play?” Vera laughed as she ran around the table and towards the fray.

 

“Okay so whoever has the Frisbee is it!” Chuckler explained as he lunged after Runner. “And you have to try to catch them!”

 

“You win when you catch the person with the Frisbee in hand!” Runner continued after he managed to dodge Chuckler and toss the Frisbee far towards Leckie, who caught it.

 

“Well then why do you guys keep catching the Frisbee if it means you’re gonna get tackled?” Vera asked before she laughed as she watched as Leckie flung the Frisbee away in a panic.

 

“Don’t ask questions,” Hoosier ordered. “This games not meant to be mentally challenging.”

 

“Well alright then.”

 

While some students fought- and lost –the battle that was studying for finals, other students struggled with a whole different issue.

 

“Babe I think you’re putting a _little_ too much thought into this,” Eugene said calmly from where he sat on the floor of Babe’s dorm room. “It’s not that much of a big deal.”

 

“Easy for you to say,” Babe grumbled from where he sat at his desk. “You figured this shit out the second the email came along months ago. Now I got a couple days to make a decision.”

 

“Still, I think you’re stressing out a little too much about it. It’s _just_ your housing info for next year, not the end of the world.”

 

With the year drawing to a close, it meant that students needed to start figuring out their plans for next year: if they were staying on campus or were planning on braving the rental market around campus, who they wanted to room with, where they wanted to room. When the first email came around months ago, it had taken Eugene and Sidney only a moment to agree that they were going to room with each other again the next year and that their first choice of a dorm would be Hanks House. There was a whirlwind of gossip throughout the door about who was living with who and who was staying on campus and who wasn’t. Most residents on the fifth floor were a little surprised when they heard the news that Dick wouldn’t be returning as R.A. next year and was instead looking at apartments off campus. Frankly, after the circus that happened a couple weeks ago, Eugene couldn’t blame the guy for wanting some change.

 

“What are your options again?” Eugene asked Babe; he had stopped by Babe’s room on the pretense of asking him to grab a bite to eat with him but somehow he got sucked into trying to figure out Babe’s housing for next year.

 

“Bill said that he would room with me but if I don’t room with him he’s gonna room with Toye again and I don’t know if Toye has another choice if I room with Bill,” Babe started. “Spina also said he would room with me if he wanted.”

 

“What about the doc?” Eugene asked with a smirk. “What if you roomed with him?”

 

“I-I don’t know,” Babe stuttered, flustered. “Wouldn’t that be weird?”

 

“Why? You two practically spend all your free time with each other and most nights you sleep in the same bed,” Eugene said. “This was you could at least push the beds together, give each other a little room to breathe.”

 

Instead of responding, Babe turned his back to Eugene while he pretended to fiddle with some papers on his desk. Eugene just smirked when he saw the red that covered the back of Babe’s neck.

 

“Gene was talking about maybe getting a single anyways,” Babe said a minute later. “Probably be better for him anyways. He could use some quiet with how much he has to study.”

 

Eugene frowned as his stomach gave a particularly loud and unpleasant growl. Unfortunately Babe was too distracted with his own thoughts to hear it.

 

“Listen. You’ve still got a couple of days to figure this out, Babe,” Eugene said as he pushed himself off of the floor. “I’m sure whatever way you choose to go, it’ll work out fine for next year. In the meantime, however, let’s go get something to eat.”

 

“Right, sorry, Eugene,” Babe said with a shake of his head before he pushed back his desk chair and stood up. “Good thing you’re already spoken for or else I’d have another possibility to consider.”

 

“Ah, I don’t think the dorm could handle the two of under the same roof,” Eugene teased.

 

“Right, we gotta spread around the good looks to the other rooms,” Babe continued as they exited his room. “It’s not fair to keep all of the beautiful ginger locks to one room.”

 

* * *

 

 Carwood stared at his computer screen for a long moment and reread over the opening line of the long email in front of him; he couldn’t bring himself to read the rest of the email yet, he was still waiting for the first line to really sink in.

 

“What’s the matter?” Jay asked. “It looks like you’ve seen a ghost.”

 

Carwood blinked and gave his head a quick shake. He hadn’t even heard Jay come into the room.

 

“What’s up?” Jay asked, concerned. “Something bad?”

 

“No, no. Something good actually,” Carwood said before he turned in his desk chair to face his roommate. “I uh, I got accepted as an R.A. for next year.”

 

“Hey, congratulations, Lip,” Jay said sincerely. “I mean, it’s not that much of a surprise actually but still. That’s great news.”

 

“Thanks, Jay,” Lip smiled while he felt a weight lift off of his shoulder.

 

It had been a few weeks since he had applied to be an R.A. and even though the application had said that it would take until the end of April for a confirmation email to be sent out, Lipton had been checking every day since for news. A part of him was confident and believed what everyone told him, that the university would be crazy if they didn’t decide to pick him, but he also couldn’t help but feel nervous about the matter.

 

“Do you know where you’re going to be living next year yet or not?”

 

“Uh, I’m not sure,” Carwood admitted before he turned back to his computer screen; he had been too hung up on the email to go any further.

 

After a minute of scanning, glancing at the reminder of the expectations that came with being an R.A., something about a meeting later in the week and training sessions and seminars before the end of the school year, a mention of an early move in date, Carwood landed on the desired information. He felt his heart lift slightly as he read over the news.

 

**Assigned Location: Hanks House**

 

“Here,” Carwood said with a smile. “I’m gonna be here. Next year.”

 

“Wow, did you request it or…?”

 

“I requested it but a lot of people I talked to said I wouldn’t get my first choice.”

 

“Well, you won’t be the only person returning here next year,” Jay said as he sat down on the edge of his bed. “A lot of the guys are requesting to be here again. I did.”

 

“Do you know when you’ll get your housing assignment?”

 

“Don’t think until after the semester ends. Probably not everyone who’s staying on campus will get put back in here but I’m sure there will be a number of familiar faces.”

 

“Can’t decide if that’ll make my job next year easier or harder,” Lipton said with a smile.

 

“I don’t think that the guys would take advantage of you,” Jay disagreed. “I don’t doubt that they would try to get away with _some_ things under your watched but after everything with Dick they probably won’t push it too far.”

 

“You’re probably right. They’re good guys, for the most part,” Carwood conceded. “I’m sure next year will be interesting with so many people coming back together.”

 

“Yeah. Won’t be the same though,” Jay added with a hint of a frown. “Not everyone’s gonna be here and those who will be are gonna be on different floors, different rooms.”

 

“There’s only gonna be another week or so of this,” Lipton realized, feeling suddenly bittersweet. “I guess I didn’t think about it like that.”

 

“Sorry to burst your bubble, Lip,” Jay apologized.

 

“Hey, just because things will be different doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll be worse,” Carwood said optimistically. “Things could be better next year.”

 

“You got a point. And with you in charge I doubt things could be much worse.”

 

“Thanks, Jay,” Lip huffed; he hoped he could live up to the expectations set by Dick and Eddie and the other R.A.s and do a good job next year.

 

The subject of next year and new room assignments was soon dropped; a minute or two later Jay pulled out his headphones and his notes for business calculus and began getting to work for his upcoming final. Carwood, however, couldn’t as easily turn away from the conversation.

 

While he obviously recognized that the school year was coming to a close, he hadn’t really registered that it also meant that this, Hanks House as he had known if for the past eight months, was also coming to a close. Sure, a lot of them would still be crammed in the same old dorm building and even if they weren’t, campus wasn’t that huge, it wouldn’t take long to meet up with someone, but deep down things just weren’t going to be the same anymore. Gone would be the days of Malarkey, Luz, Person, and Hasser playing Rock Band loudly at four in the morning on a week day- Lipton doubted the university would allow those trouble makers all in the same dorm next year -, there wouldn’t be any more of Dick’s disapproving looks while Nixon snickered in the background, no more Ron just being a few rooms away when he needed to see him.

 

_Change isn’t always bad_ , Carwood had to remind himself quickly. _This whole year was a change and it was the best decision ever. Don’t write off next year before it even happens._

 

Carwood nodded to himself before he exited out of his email and opened up one of his many incomplete study guides. He needed to stop focusing on the future and focus on the present. There was still a little over a week left in the school year. There was still time to enjoy and make memories.

 

* * *

 

 

It was a sign of how dire the times were that George Luz was actually making use of the campus library to study. He had been there for a few hours already- he didn’t try to accurately calculate just how much time he had wasted away inside the building, he knew the truth would just upset him –but unfortunately was still not finished with his bitch of a study guide. Sure, he still had two days until his exam to study but somewhere along the line someone, probably Lip, had convinced him to not put off studying until the last minute for once.

 

_Fuck I need a smoke_ , Luz thought to himself as he stared at his open economics text book with tired eyes; he was sure a cigarette would solve at least a few of his problems but he feared losing his spot if he got up; the library was packed and with everyone so severely stressed and sleep deprived George wouldn’t be surprised if a fight broke out over a seat.

 

Suddenly, the headphone that had been covering George’s right ear was roughly pulled away from his ear before it was snapped back, smacking him in the face in the process. Luz jolted and turned to find Ray Person standing behind him, grinning like the asshole he was.

 

“Yo, bitch, why aren’t you answering my texts?” Ray asked as Luz pulled his headphones off and glared at Ray. “Been trying to hit you up all day, man, and I gotta say, I’m not a fan of the whole playing hard to get thing.”

 

“I turned my phone off,” George grumbled.

 

“Why the fuck would you do something like that?”

 

“Because my econ final is in two days and I calculated that I need at least a 90 on this exam to get a B in the class so I gotta buckle down and focus on this shit,” Luz explained as he reached back for his headphones so that he could better block out the voice of his friend.

 

“Man you been here like all damn day. How long does it take you to cram for this exam?”

 

“Okay some of us aren’t secret geniuses and need more than an hour to get through a year’s worth of material,” he snapped. “So sorry I can’t talk right now, I got shit to do.”

 

“Listen, bro, this’ll only take a minute,” Ray said quickly while he reached out and stopped Luz from pulling his headphones back over his ears. “I just need your quick opinion on some shit for the party.”

 

“Can’t this wait like another hour or two?” George hissed while he glanced around the library and noticed a few dirty looks thrown their way.

 

“Time sensitive plans, Luz. We got a week to organize this shit and if this party is not the biggest thing we’ve ever thrown we are failures to the party Gods,” Ray said seriously.

 

“You mean Dionysus?” George asked dryly, which earned a smile and a playful punch to the shoulder from Ray.

 

“See. You’re a motherfucking secret genius too,” he declared proudly. “Okay but seriously bro, I’m gonna need your help with this bitch soon. It’s gonna be epic-”

 

“Excuse me,” a student sitting two seats away from Luz suddenly snapped. “But some of us are trying to study in peace. Do you mind taking your conversation somewhere else?”

 

“I’ve been trying to but this guy just won’t budge,” Ray said as he gestured to Luz.

 

“Oh, no, don’t go blaming this on me,” Luz countered.

 

“I don’t care whose fault it is. Just either shut up or get out of here,” the student snapped again.

 

“Mmm, feisty,” Ray said with a wink.

 

“Ray, seriously, get your ass out of here before I throw you out myself,” Luz threatened. “I’ll come help you in an hour okay? Just let me finish this shit in peace.”

 

“You gotta deal,” Ray agreed as he took a step back from Luz. “But if I don’t see you and your big ‘ol brown eyes in an hour, I’m gonna come back here.”

 

“He’ll be there,” snapped the irate student before he sent a glare to George.

 

“Do you see what you’ve done? You’ve gotten me in trouble,” Luz muttered quietly as the other student put his earbuds back in and returned to his work. “Stressed out college kids have killed for less. You really want my blood on your conscious?”

 

“Nope and that is why I’m getting my ass out here,” Ray said as he took another step away from George. “Good luck my friend. Let me know if you need stuff for an all-nighter. I scored some uppers, be willing to share.”

 

“Thanks. Tempting. I’ll let you know,” George said tersely. “Now get your scrawny ass out of here alright?”

 

Ray gave a final salute before he turned and exited the library, ignoring all the murderous glares that came his way. George pulled his headphones back onto his ears before he turned back to his econ study guide and immediately felt every ounce of motivation in him drain away.

 

“Fuck,” George sighed as he flipped through his incomplete study guide; he counted the number of questions that were left unanswered. He stopped counting after the number passed ten.

 

Usually, whenever there was a party being thrown by the members of Hanks House, George was always one of the masterminds behind the planning; this time, not so much. This time around George had been doing his very best to ignore all of the plans and ideas being thrown around for the end of the year party; he told himself that he was going to focus on his school work and then celebrate properly when he was sure he had did well on all of his exams. Easier said than done of course.

 

George looked up at the clock that hung on the opposite wall and checked the time before he began flipping through his partially finished study guide again. He had been in the library all day and he _had_ made a lot of progress with his study guide…

_You do have two more days to finish this_ , George thought to himself _. You always do work better under pressure after all…_

 

“Fuck it,” George said to himself flatly before he shoved his notes, book, and study guide into his book bag without caring how crumpled up all the papers were getting.

 

Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, George got up from the table and all but ran out of the deathly quiet building. George was halfway down the stone steps out front when a voice stopped him.

 

“Ha! I knew you couldn’t let your dear pal Ray Ray down!”

 

George turned around and found Ray leaning against the exterior library wall, grinning triumphantly while his ridiculously large sunglasses covered half his face. Luz was almost overcome by the wish to punch the cocky look off of his friends’ face; he blamed it on a mix of needing a cigarette and finals stress.

 

“Shut up,” Luz grumbled lamely while he dug out a crumpled back of cigarettes from his hoodie pocket.

 

“It’s okay, Luz, it happens to a lot of people,” Ray grinned as he walked towards Luz and threw an arm around Luz’s shoulders. “Ray Person is irresistible to both men and women. It’s a curse, I know, but I’ve learned to live with it.”

 

“You’re definitely a curse alright,” George muttered around his cigarette while the two continued to walk away from the library and towards their home base of Hanks House.

 

“Ouch, that hurt,” Ray exclaimed overdramatically. “But, I know you’re under a lot of pressure and stress from exams so I’ll let it slide.”

 

“How kind of you.”

 

“I know right? And my kindness doesn’t end there,” Ray continued loudly. “You sure hit the jackpot today, my friend, because after we get some progress done on these party plans, I’m gonna do you a solid and I’ll help you study.”

 

“Really?” Luz asked, surprised.

 

“Hell yeah my man. Who am I supposed to party with next year if your ass gets kicked out of here for flunking?”

 

* * *

 

 

“Why are we looking at places a mile away from campus? Dick, I thought you wanted me to go to class occasionally. No way am I dragging my ass a mile to and from campus just to go to class.”

 

“Lew, I’m just looking at the options,” Dick explained patiently as he sat on the edge of Nixon’s bed, his laptop sitting open on his lap. “It’s cheaper if we move a little farther away from campus.”

 

“And how many times do I have to remind you that money is not an issue for me?” Lewis huffed as he laid sprawled out behind Dick. “How much do you think it’d cost to build a house right in the middle of the quad?”

 

“The university lets you away with a lot of stuff, Lew, but I don’t think they’d let you do that,” Dick pointed out as he continued to scan online housing adds. “And how many times do I have to remind you that not all of us are as lucky as you to have bottomless piggybanks?”

 

“Hey, I told you if the place we found was a little outside your price range, I wouldn’t have an issue covering the difference for you,” Nixon said as he propped himself up on his elbows so that he could better look at Dick.

 

“Yeah that’s nice and all but what about me?” Harry pipped up in irritation from where he sat on the floor. “You gonna as nice and cover my share too?”

 

“Not in your dreams, Harry,” Lewis declared as he flopped back down onto his back. “Maybe you should try getting sweet on Ron and see if he’d be willing to cough up some extra cash. He’s loaded too ya know.”

 

“I would rather go to class naked for all of next year than try to ‘ _get sweet on Ron_ ’,” Harry declared.

 

“And I think we would all rather you didn’t do _either_ of those things,” Ron said easily as he glided into the room, his overstuffed schoolbag slung over his shoulder.

 

“How was your review session?” Dick asked politely as Ron sat at his desk and began unloading several different books and notebooks from his bag.

 

“About as pleasant as one could expect. How’s house hunting going? I see Nixon is doing his part.”

 

“We already checked out a couple places around campus, we’ve got a few more places lined up, what other work is there for me to do?” Nixon asked in exasperation. “We really need to check out _every_ available three bedroom in mile radius?”

 

“We’re just covering all the bases,” Dick said calmly.

 

“What was wrong with that place we saw yesterday? It was like across the street from campus and allowed pets-”

 

“We’re not getting a dog, Lewis,” Dick insisted with a tired smile on his face.

 

“You said we’d talk about it,” Lewis continued in a serious tone.

 

“In relationship speak that means ‘no’,” Harry said.

 

“Okay but seriously, what was so wrong with the place that we couldn’t sign the lease right then and there? What was gonna beat that place?”

 

“Maybe a place that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg?” Harry suggested. “Not all of us were born into rich families…or were lucky enough to find someone who was rich.”

 

“If you’re so freaked out about spending money why don’t you ask Kitty to move in with us? Rent would be a whole lot cheaper split five ways, Harry,” Ron suggested, his back facing the three of them.

 

“Oh no, Kitty is not moving in with us,” Lewis said firmly as he sat up. “No offense to Kitty, she’s a pretty cool lady, but it’s not gonna happen.”

 

“Why not? You get to move in with your boyfriend,” Harry pointed out fairly.

 

“Yeah well me and Dick don’t make everyone in the immediate vicinity throw up-”

 

“That’s what you think,” Harry cut him off.

 

“ _Harry_ -”

 

“But don’t you worry,” Harry continued with a hand raised in surrender. “I already asked Kitty about it and she said that she would rather not stay in a- and I quote –“ _Boy House_ ”.”

 

“So then we’re back at square one which means you have to cough up more money for rent.”

 

“Or you could just say screw it and live on campus again,” Ron suggested.

 

“If we don’t figure this out in a few days I just might,” Harry mumbled before he checked the time on his phone and jumped up quickly from the floor. “Shit. I’m late.”

 

“For what?” Dick asked.

 

“I’m meeting Kitty for lunch and I was supposed to leave five minutes ago.”

 

“You gonna be back in two hours to go check out that place on the west side of campus?” Dick asked right before Harry exited the room.

 

“Yeah. Promise I’ll be right back here in two hours,” Harry swore before he scurried out of the room and down the nearby staircase.

 

“How much you want to bet he isn’t able to pull himself away from Kitty in time to meet us back here?” Ron asked frankly as the sound of Harry’s footsteps faded away.

 

“Well, if I was a betting man-” Dick began.

 

“But since you’re not,” Lewis cut in with a smirk.

 

“Since I’m not, I’ll just text Kitty and let her know to send Harry back this way in an hour and a half,” Dick finished as he pulled out his phone.

 

“Seriously though, can we please just settle on a place?” Nixon asked as he collapsed back on top of his bed, feeling exhausted. “We’ve looked at a dozen places all over town and still no dice. One place is too small, another’s too expensive, no AC, too far away from campus- I didn’t think it would be so fucking difficult for four guys to agree on a place.”

 

“We’ll find a place soon, Lew,” Dick reassured him. “Sooner or later we’re going to have to sit down and agree.”

 

“I would much rather it be sooner. I already have too much to deal with on top of making sure I’m not going to be crashing on the library couches next year,” Nix signed as he closed his eyes. “And here I was, excited at the idea of moving off campus for next year. But all this shit is kinda making me want to just sign up for housing again.” Lewis cracked open an eye and watched Dick for a moment before he continued. “What do you think, Dick? You ready to throw in the towel yet?”

 

“I don’t give up that easily, Lew,” Dick responded.

 

“What? You don’t wanna deal with another year of babysitting in exchange for free room and board?”

 

“It’s my time to go,” Dick reminded him. “It’s time for other people to stand up and take charge. They don’t need me anymore.”

 

“Mmm hmm, sure,” Nix murmured skeptically. “Hey, Ron, how much you wanna bet that Dick here backseat R.A.’s Lip for the first month of the next school year?”

 

“Similar to Dick, I am not a betting man, Nix.”

 

“Well you two are no fun.”

 

* * *

 

 For the first time in what felt like weeks for David, the fifth floor of Hanks House was blissfully silent. He didn’t hear any loud video games or music blaring down the hallway and any voice that spoke was quiet and respectful. If there was one good thing that came with final examinations, it was the quiet it brought to the usually rowdy floor. Finally David was able to study efficiently in the comfort of his own room.

 

“Yo! Web!” Joe exclaimed as he burst into Webster’s dorm room, shattering the silence with no issue. David couldn’t help but sigh as he watched his boyfriend cross the room and casually plop down on top of his bed. “What’er you up to?”

 

“Studying for finals, Joe, just like everyone else,” he answered tersely. “What’ve you been up to?”

 

“Ahhh, little studying, lot of sleeping. Read a comic or two,” Joe answered, not an ounce of stress visible in his voice or his appearance. “I know I got these finals in the bag.”

 

“Are you sure about that, Joe?” David asked as he turned back to his notes.

 

“What? You don’t believe me?” Liebgott asked, sitting upright. “That’s not very nice, Web, not having confidence in your boyfriend.”

 

“That’s not what I meant, Joe, I just…I just want you to do the best you can on your exams,” David amended himself quickly. “If you’re not studying as much as possible, are you really doing all that you can?”

 

“You know there is such a thing as _over-studying_ ,” Joe informed him as he slouched back into a more relaxed position.

 

“I’m just being thorough,” Webster said as he scribbled a note onto the page of one of his study guides.

 

“You’re going to fry your brain,” Liebgott declared. When his boyfriend continued to scribble instead of fight back, Joe sighed and rolled his eyes. “Okay so I didn’t just come in here to bother you, ya know.” David only grunted in response as he began flipping the pages of one of the many books spread out across his desk. “My Ma called me.”

 

“Oh? How is she?”

 

“She’s fine. She’s been working on getting your room ready for you and she had some questions about what kind of thing you prefer, color pallets and shit.” David paused in his writing but didn’t turn around. “She wants to buy you an area rug cus she went real crazy with the home improvement and ripped out all the old carpeting in your room. She asked me what color I thought you’d like. I said blue would be fine. You like blue, right?”

 

“Yeah, Joe, blues fine,” Webster murmured as he returned to his work and tried to ignore how hot his neck felt.

 

“She also bought a brand new dresser, one that matches your bedframe.”

 

“She didn’t have to do that,” David said quietly, finally pausing his studying long enough to turn and look at Joe. “The old dresser was just fine. It doesn’t matter that it didn’t match.”

 

“That’s what I told her but then she went on and on about how you’d need more space for all your things-”

 

“This is all I have, Joe,” Web said with a hollow laugh as he gestured lightly around the room; he _had_ only managed to escape New York with a carry-on and a checked bag. The majority of his things were still back east, that is if his parents hadn’t thrown them out already. “I’m pretty sure my things wouldn’t have taken up _half_ of that old dresser.”

 

“Well then we’ll just go and get you some stuff to fill it up,” Joe shrugged, not seeing Webster discomfort.

 

“I don’t need more stuff, Joe,” Webster maintained while he struggled to seem as calm as possible. “What I have is fine.”

 

“Maybe if you’re living in this shoebox that only has room for a few outfits. But if you’re living somewhere with some legroom? It wouldn’t hurt to get a couple things. You know my sisters would fucking love to take you out and sponsor a shopping spree makeover for you.”

 

“I don’t need a shopping spree, Joe, what I need is a job,” David huffed. “Then I get _myself_ what I need.”

 

“Okay but until you get a job, we’ll take care of it-”

 

“I already have a few places lined up,” David continued. “Filled out a couple job applications to places around your house. Already got a callback for one place. I just emailed them back about setting up an interview date.”

 

Joe stared at him for a long moment. He stayed reclined in his relaxed position but his eyes were sharp and his mouth was pulled into the beginnings of a sneer.

 

“What’s your problem, Web?” he finally asked.

 

“What?”

 

“Why are you so fucking against us helping you?” Joe snapped. “Gotta twist your arm to convince you to stay with us and then whenever I tell you something nice my mom or my sisters have done for you, you can’t just smile and say ‘thanks’ like a normal person. Ya gotta act as if it’s some big burden.”

 

“It _is_ a burden, Joe.”

 

“What the fuck-”

 

“That’s not the right word,” Webster backtracked.

 

“Then what word is, Web?”

 

“I just- I appreciate everything that your family is doing for me, Joe, I really do-”

 

“Ya got a funny fucking way of showing it,” Joe argued as he snapped up from his spot on the bed so that he could tower over Webster who was still seated.

 

“I’m sorry if it’s a little difficult for me to deal with such a great level of generosity, Joe,” Webster snapped, desperately trying to explain why he felt so uncomfortable. “It’s not that easy for me to just accept a place to stay for free with food and your mother just keeps buying me these things-”

 

“Yeah that sounds like an awful fucking situation you’ve found yourself in, Web, boo-fucking-hoo.”

 

As Joe began to backup and head for the door, Webster sprang up from his seat. Joe was not going to get the last word in this.

 

“I’m just not used to this, Joe! My family wouldn’t do shit like this! If my family did offer to help someone out like this, you better believe there would be strings attached. It’s just not how I was raised-”

 

“Well I’m sorry you were raised in a piece of shit family that taught you not to help out your family,” Joe growled as he paused in the doorway. “Maybe the next family who takes you in will be a little less compassionate!”

 

As Joe exited he slammed the door behind him, leaving David in a different sort of silence than before while he wondered just how everything blew up in his face so quickly.

 

* * *

 

 “Sorry for calling so late, Mother. I was in the library all day. I don’t get the best cell reception in there,” Eugene apologized as he sat down on the edge of his bed Saturday night, phone wedge between his ear and his shoulder while he untied his shoes. “I only just got your message as I was walking back to my dorm.”

 

“ _It’s quite alright, Eugene, I know how busy you must be right now_ ,” his mother softly, sounding tired.

 

“I would have just called you in the morning but you’re message said to call you back as soon as possible,” Eugene continued quickly while he felt anxiety rise in his body; it wasn’t exactly the best feeling to emerge from the library mentally exhausted after hours of studying to find a voicemail from his mother telling him to call him as soon as he could. His mind instantly thought of his remaining grandparents, his father, any sickly relative, and went to the worst place. “So what’s going on? What’s happened? Who-”

 

_“Eugene, Eugene, calm down_ ,” his mother ordered, sounding much more awake suddenly. _“It’s nothing of that sort.”_

 

“Oh,” Eugene said, feeling himself deflate slightly. “Well then what’s so urgent I had to call back?”

 

_“It’s about you actually_ ,” she continued coolly.

 

“ _Me?_ What about me?”

 

There was a long pause and then the phone line crackled with the sound of his mother breathing into the phone. His mother might not be bearing news of a dead or dying relative but whatever news she had was still not good. In that brief pause Eugene forced himself to rethink every move he had made within the last few weeks and wondered what it was that he done wrong. Which infraction was it and how in the hell did it get back to his mother in Mobile?

 

_“Sidney has notified me that you have a…a_ friend _,”_ his mother said slowly, turning Eugene’s blood into ice and his mouth into the Sahara. Every single word in his vocabulary escaped him; he couldn’t even try to deny that what she had heard was true. He was so fucked. _“Eugene_.”

 

“Um… I-ah,” Eugene stuttered while he tried frantically to get his mouth and brain back into working order. His heart was hammering against his chest so hard he felt as if it were shaking his entire body. The dorm room suddenly felt sweltering and he wasn’t sure if he was still breathing or not. What the fuck was he supposed to do?

 

“ _Eugene,”_ his mother repeated, her voice too controlled and even for Eugene to be able to tell if she was upset or angry.

 

“Wha… how-how did Sidney…? When did he, um,” Eugene struggled, seemingly unable to string more than a few words together at a time. Thankfully his mother was able to pick up the pieces and answer his questions. The heavy silence that punctuated both sides of the line was suddenly replaced by his mother’s rapid and wordy speech.

 

“ _I was having tea earlier with Sidney’s mother, Elizabeth, when Sidney called to let Elizabeth know when the two of you would be heading back home. Part way through their conversation, Amelia interrupted us because of an issue she was having with her prom dress but before Elizabeth hung up, I asked if I could talk to Sidney. I planned on being quick, I just wanted to ask him if he could tell you to call me because I haven’t heard from you in over a week, Eugene, and I understand you’re busy but really I’m sure you’re not so busy that you don’t have a spare fifteen minutes to call your mother. Anyways Sidney and I got to talking and I asked him how you were doing- because I haven’t been able to ask you that question yourself –and he said that you were doing so much better now that you were with your…_ boyfriend _.”_

 

Eugene still could not speak, his brain was too busy digesting his mother’s word vomit to process words of his own, too busy accepting the fact that Sidney had accidentally outed him to his mother to notice that his dorm room door opened and then quickly snapped shut again.

 

_“Eugene… Eugene I thought you said that Merriell was just a_ friend _, a good friend but still a friend nonetheless. You said that you were just tutoring him. You lied to me._ You lied to me _and I had to find out about it from a phone call from_ Sidney _.”_

 

“I didn’t-!” It was like a dam broke in his throat and his voice came rushing back to him. It was stronger, louder, and much angrier than he anticipated so he quickly stamped down on it before it continued. It wouldn’t do well to raise his voice at him mother at a time like this. “I didn’t lie to you, mother. I just… I just didn’t get a chance to update you on the change of situation. Me and Merriell _were_ just friends but then… then things changed… and now we’re, we’re more than friends. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to tell you myself, I had full intentions of telling you, mom, I swear I just… I just decided that maybe this would be something better told to you in person. I was going to tell you when I came back to Mobile. I promise. I’m sorry.”

 

There was silence for a long moment. The only sound Eugene could hear was his blood as it rushed through his ears. His skin felt clammy and he was sure that he was going to throw up. Just as he was about to test his legs so that maybe he could get his trashcan near him in case he did actually throw up, his mother broke the silence.

 

“ _Alright then,”_ his mother said, her voice calm and calculated once again. _“I accept your apology_.” Eugene had enough time to let out a deep breath he was not aware he had been holding before his mother continued. “ _Well then, now that this Merriell is… is more than just a friend I_ will _need to meet with this boy.”_

 

“What?”

 

_“I know_ nothing _of this boy, Eugene_ ,” she insisted. _“I know he is from Louisiana and that he’s the same year as you but nothing else. What is he like? What is his family like? What are his ambitions? Is he good for you-?”_

 

Eugene felt suddenly dizzy while he half-listened to his mother rattle off questions and complaints. This was too much to deal with in such a short span of time. He needed time to digest the situation, time to breathe. He needed his mother to stop talking his ear off for one single moment so that he could get a word in. Most importantly, he needed a damn cigarette.

 

“Mother,” Eugene managed to interrupt her, his mouth feeling vaguely like sandpaper again. “Um…I understand what you’re saying- I’ll talk to Merriell about finding time to come to Mobile over the summer so that you two can meet, I promise –but can we just backtrack the situation for a moment?”

 

“ _Backtrack it to where?”_

 

“Back to where you found out that I have a boyfriend,” Eugene said as he closed his eyes and rested his head in his unoccupied hand, his arm propped up on his knee. He suddenly felt so exhausted it took everything in him to stay upright and not flop backwards on top of his bed. “Back to where you found out that, um, that I’m gay, Mom. Because, um, I am. This isn’t a phase or, or college experimenting or whatever.”

 

“ _Oh. Oh yes,_ that,” she said softly.

 

“Yeah. _That_ ,” Eugene repeated tensely. He let out another deep breath before he continued. “You’re not…you’re not mad? Disappointed…?”

 

“ _No, no I am not anything of the sort, Eugene. I don’t know what you would think that_ ,” she exclaimed, sounding offended, as if it were a completely idiotic thing to ask. Eugene couldn’t help but snort slightly because of course it would be his mother to twist this sort of situation into her feelings being hurt. “ _I’m not upset I’m… I’m surprised is all. I can’t say I thought about you being… being_ gay _. Perhaps I should have considered it when I did not see you take interest in a single girl,- especially when so many showed interest in you, Eugene, you are a handsome young man after all –but I had always just assumed that you were shy, a late bloomer.”_

 

“You’re not angry,” Eugene sighed, more for his own benefit than as something he meant to say out loud.

_“I’m not angry,”_ she repeated. _“I am annoyed I found out this way and that you kept it hidden from me, I understand you wanting to tell me in person but still, I can’t help my irritation. But no, sweetheart, I’m not upset. You’re still my son. I’m still your mother. Understood?”_

 

Eugene nodded his head before he realized that his mother could not see him. When he spoke his chest felt tight and his voice sounded as if he had suddenly come down with a cold.

 

“Yeah,” Eugene nodded. “Yes I know, Mother.”

 

_“Well it’s really quite late here now, Eugene, and I do need to go to bed and I’m sure you do too. You’ll find time to continue this talk with me tomorrow?”_

 

“Yeah,” Eugene sniffled as he opened his eyes; he was taken aback when he felt something warm roll down his cheek. He was not aware that he had started to cry. “Yeah I’ll call you tomorrow after my final.”

 

_“Good. I’m sure you’ll do just fine on the exam tomorrow. You’ve always done so well in school, Eugene.”_

 

“Thanks,” Eugene said with a tired smile.

 

_“Goodnight, Eugene.”_

 

“Goodnight, mother.”

 

The line clicked dead and Eugene let his phone drop to the ground while he wiped at his face. His brain was spinning with everything that had just happened when he heard the door open. When he turned he found Sidney standing in the doorway, blue eyes comically wide, looking as if he had just seen a ghost.

 

“I’m sorry,” Sidney croaked out hurriedly as he shut the door behind him. “I’m sorry, Eugene, I’m _so, so sorry_ it just slipped I-I- _I thought you said that you told her_!”

 

“I said that I was _going_ to tell her!” Eugene shouted, the tenseness of the last few minutes causing something to violently snap inside of him. “I decided it’d be better to wait until we got back so I could tell her in person, you dipshit!” Anger surged inside of him and before Eugene could realize what was happening, Sidney was ducking as a tennis shoe went flying widely in his direction. “Now I gotta get blindsided by her through a fucking phone call!”

 

“I’m sorry,” Sidney repeated from where he sat slumped on the ground of the dorm room floor. “I’m sorry, Eugene, I didn’t want to start shit with your family… shit.” Sidney gripped his curly blond hair and tugged painfully, very clearly overcome with guilt over his accidental fuck up. “How did she… how did she react? Was she mad? Is she pissed at you? Eugene… I-”

 

“She’s okay,” Eugene responded calmly, his anger quickly fading away. “She’s not upset or disowning me or anything. She just said that she was surprised. Thought that I was just a late bloomer or something.” Eugene glanced back at Sidney and saw a small smirk pulling at the corners of his best friend’s mouth. “Hey don’t you laugh at me. You’re still on thin ice, Sidney.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Sidney repeated as he raised his hands slightly as if in surrender.

 

“It’s alright…not like I haven’t been a late bloomer my entire life or anything,” Eugene sighed, causing Sidney to smile ever so slightly again. “Should be used to hearing that comment by now I guess.”

 

“But she’s okay with it? With you and Snafu?” Sidney persisted.

 

“Yeah. She’s more upset that she doesn’t know anything about Mer. She’s demanding he visits over the summer so that she can properly meet him.”

 

“Now that’s a showdown I can’t wait to have front row tickets for,” Sidney said seriously. “Snafu vs. Mrs. Sledge. I’m not sure who I’d put my money on honestly.” Eugene shook his head while his friend chuckled quietly on the other side of the room. He was too tired to think about what would happen when his mother and Mer got around to meeting. Suddenly feeling too exhausted to keep the night going, Eugene let his body fall backwards “Hey, Eugene.”

 

Eugene managed to open his eyes and turn his head to look at Sidney, still sitting against the wall, seemingly unsure if he was allowed to move or not.

 

“Are we… are we good?” Sidney asked nervously. “You know I didn’t mean to tell her. I thought you told her.”

 

“Yeah…we’re still good,” Eugene declared tiredly with a small smile. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, you old greaser.”

 

* * *

 

 “Okay so, wait a second,” Skip said, his voice muffled by a mouthful of greasy diner french-fries. “The Allies agreed on unconditional surrender at… was it Tehran Conference?”

 

“Nah, man, the Big Three agreed on that shit at Casablanca,” Malarkey corrected confidentially while he fought to get ketchup out of the novelty glass ketchup bottle.

 

“So wait what was Tehran then?” Skip asked as he sorted through his notes, now covered in splotches of grease.

 

“At Tehran they agreed that the Western Allies would create a second front against Germany,” Walt answered as he reached out quickly to grab the glass of soda Ray almost knocked over with his elbow as he gesticulated wildly. “Watch it, Ray! You almost took out Malarkey’s history notes.”

 

“Sorry, my man,” Ray apologized quickly before he turned back to his conversation. “Okay, so where was I?”

 

Sunday night found several residents of Hanks House crammed into the corner booth of the local diner while they attempted a final cram session before their first finals started the next morning. Or at least, some of them attempted to study for their finals. Other members of the group felt it was a better use of their time to listen to Ray regale them with stories taken from members of his extended family.

 

“…so now my aunt Lisa’s knocked out cold, my mom’s too busy trying to wake her up to notice that great grandma Linda has snuck out the back door, uncle Jack and uncle Pete are about to duke it out because Jack wants to watch NASCAR and Pete wants to watch the football game and they can’t fucking get the picture-in-picture to work and neither one of them is gonna step down and let the other win. Somehow I get put on kitchen detail with my cousin Bonnie who at this point in the night is just _fucking hammered_ on her dad’s apple pie moonshine and she is just trying so desperately to seem sober because she’s only 15 and she’s been sneaking drinks all night. So you can imagine how smoothly everything went with me and drunky in the kitchen in charge of the cooking.”

 

“Oh my God, do you even have a house anymore?” George asked. “Because I’m assuming it burnt to the ground.”

 

“Almost but not quite,” Ray corrected him before he continued. “So eventually, my mom gets her sister awake and back on her feet but just as she gets that dealt with, Jack and Pete decide that an impromptu WWE showdown in the living room is the _only_ way to decide who gets to pick what we watch. Jack takes one of the fucking metal folding chair we have set up around the card table and just fucking _nails_ Pete in the back with this chair. Pete howls so loudly that it scares Bonnie back in the kitchen. She knocks her glass of moonshine over, right onto the stove top where there’s an open flame, and whoosh! The entire stove top is fucking on fire, it’s starting to crawl up the walls, no one fucking hears us screaming because everyone in the living room is screaming because Jack just broke Pete’s damn back. The fire alarm finally kicks on and my cousins Billy and Helen come running and start trying to put the fire out. Somehow, in his fight against the fire, Billy knocks the flaming pan on the floor and somehow manages to catch the leg of his pants on fire. Helen starts just stomping on Billy’s pant leg to get the fire out, he’s screaming, Bonnie’s crying, I’m freaking out and I just grab the hose from the kitchen sink and start dousing the whole kitchen, floor to ceiling, anything I can reach.”

 

“I didn’t know you were a volunteer fireman, Ray,” Skinny commented, entertained. “I’m impressed.”

 

“Don’t be. The only thing I did was soak all the finished dishes we had sitting out. By the time Billy has the sense to turn off the stovetop, the fucking oven starts smoking because the damn stuffing overflowed and started to cook on the bottom of the oven. Aunt Lisa comes running in to see what the fuck is happening, she slips on the fucking water that’s all over the floor, drops to the ground and knocks herself out again! Helen’s on the floor trying to wake her mom up, Billy’s fighting to get the smoke alarm off, I’m trying to clean up all the water, and Bonnie I swear is on another fucking planet having a meltdown because she’s sure she just fucking ruined Thanksgiving.”

 

“Well she kinda did, don’t you think?” Buck asked through his laughter. “It was her booze that started the whole kitchen fiasco.”

 

“Nah man it was an accident. And even if it was all her fault, I gotta say, this still wasn’t the worst Thanksgiving I’ve seen.”

 

“What the fuck was your worst Thanksgiving then?” Alex asked with wide eyes.

 

“That is a story for another time, my friend. Let me get through this one first,” Ray said before he took a pause to knock back half of his strawberry milkshake, half of which slopped onto his shirt and face. “So, we hear an ambulance roll up to the house, uncle Pete’s getting taken to the hospital, my mom and Jack come back to the kitchen and see Lisa on the floor, the place filled with smoke, everything covered in water, and just when you think shit ain’t gonna get worse, Bonnie fucking pukes all over the damn kitchen floor.”

 

“Perfect timing,” George comments. “So is that the end?”

 

“Not quite yet. Just as my mom starts screaming, there’s a knock at the backdoor, and guess. Whose. Fucking _. There_ ,” Ray asks dramatically, taking a long moment to look at everyone who was listening so that the suspense increased.

 

“Just fucking spit it out already,” Alex snapped.

 

“It’s Brad fucking Colbert with my crazy Nana Linda because she got caught trying to break into his house next door,” Ray concluded with a grin.

 

“What the hell did he say?”

 

“Especially walking in on a scene like that?”

 

“You know Brad. He was all stoic and shit and was just like ‘I think this belongs to you’ and just walked away,” Ray said with a roll of his eyes.

 

“Okay so if that wasn’t the craziest Thanksgiving you’ve ever had, what the fuck was?”

 

“You know, some of us are trying study here,” Skip interrupted before Ray could start another story. “Now usually we all appreciate your dumbass family stories, Ray, we really do, but we got this final exam in fourteen hours and we still have three more pages of study guide to get through.”

 

“Maybe you shouldn’t have come out if you needed to study,” Ray shrugged.

 

“We all came out because we all agreed that we would be studying,” Walt reminded him.

 

“Yeah well, you all should’ve known that that was a damn lie. If you want I can offer you some dope ass Adderall. I’ll give you the friends and family discount.”

 

“I may have to take you up on that offer,” Malarkey said darkly as he looked down at the piles of notes laid out in front of him. “At this rate I’m gonna need it.”

 

* * *

 

 The last Monday morning on the fifth floor was like one nobody had ever seen before. Almost everyone was up and moving by nine in the morning, either because they had an exam, they were woken up by a roommate who had an exam and felt pressured into studying for an upcoming exam, or because they desperately needed to sift through the wreckage that was their dorm room and start packing it all up. Most of the time packing only lasted a few minutes before someone stumbled upon something that sent them down memory lane and derailed their packing for several hours. Items were so scattered across the dorm that often when people packed they found numerous items that did not belong to them; it became a bit of a game to figure out what item belonged to who and track them down to return it to them.

 

“Why the hell do I have two copies of the Avengers?” Skip asked himself from where he sat in the middle of his dorm room floor. The room looked like a mess. After he returned from his history final earlier that morning Skip had started celebrating by throwing away all of his history notes which then turned into throwing away other useless things he didn’t need. Before he knew it, two hours had passed and half of his belonging were scattered all over the shared room.

 

“What. The fuck. Happened,” Alex asked slowly as he stood in the doorway and stared at the chaos in front of him. “It looks like a damn nuclear bomb went off in here.”

 

“Wha…?” Skip muttered as he looked around and took in the scale of his destruction. “Oh, yeah, sorry about that man. I got a little carried away.”

 

“Ya think?”

 

“I’ll take care of it later,” Skip said with a wave of his hand. “Hey, do you know why I have two copies of the Avengers? I don’t think I even own _one_ …”

 

“Eugene has a shit ton of DVD’s. He might own a copy,” Penkala answered as he tried to maneuver around piles of clothes and school work. “Don’t know if he has a copy of it though.”

 

“Wait. I remember, he totally owns a copy,” Skip announced confidently.

 

“How are you so sure?”

 

“Don’t you remember that time one of the first nights here? After that party down at the beach when we all wound up in Sledge’s room watching it?” Skip asked with a smile as he thought back to that night so long ago.

 

“Oh right I remember that,” Alex said with a nod. “I woke up with Malarkey drooling in my lap and my face right up against Buck’s crusty socks. My back was sore for a week after that.”

 

“It was a bonding experience, you old man. Don’t poke holes in the memory. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go see if Sledge is missing his copy of the Avengers.”

 

“You _are_ going to clean this shit up right?” Alex asked, annoyed, as Skip struggled to get to the exit.

 

“Of course I am. Definitely will be cleaned up within the week, my friend,” Skip promised as he leaped over a pile of his belongings and quickly exited the room before his friend could yell at him anymore.

 

Skip skidded down the hallway and stopped abruptly in front of room 506. He found the door cracked and but didn’t hear any noise coming from inside. Skip knocked on the door and waited for an answer. When one never came, Skip pushed open the door cautiously and poked his head inside.

 

“Anybody home?”

 

Neither Eugene nor Sidney were in the room. With a shrug Skip tossed the DVD onto Eugene’s desk before he stepped back out of the room and wondered how long he could get away with leaving his room a mess before Alex really got pissed.

 

* * *

 

 Eugene lazily pushed the remnants of his meal around his plate as he watched his boyfriend shovel fake eggs swimming in hot sauce into his mouth from across the table. It amazed Eugene, the fact that Merriell could seemingly eat his weight in shitty dining hall food and still stay as rail thin as always. It also amazed him, and concerned him a bit, how Merriell managed to cover anything and everything in hot sauce and spices and not be irritated by the slightest bout of heartburn.

 

_Just not fair_ , Eugene thought to himself as he sighed into his cup of coffee.

 

He watched for another long moment as Shelton seemingly inhaled half of a cheese burger in one bite before Eugene gave his head a quick shake. He needed to get this out in the open sometime. Eugene had spent the majority of their meal wondering to himself when exactly would be the best time to talk to Merriell about his mother’s request. He couldn’t decide if it was something that would be better said with or without food crammed in Merriell’s mouth. If he didn’t decide soon, his decision would be made for him; Shelton may sometimes seem like a bottomless pit sometimes but Eugene knew he’d have to stop eventually.

 

“Quit worrying,” Merriell ordered around a mouthful of French fries, startling Eugene.

 

“What?” Eugene asked, feeling for a second as if Merriell had read his mind somehow.

 

“I see you. You’re freaking out about something and I gotta say, Eugene, whatever question you think you fucked up on your exam, first off, you probably didn’t fuck it up and secondly, even if you _did_ actually fuck it up, I’m sure you’ll be fine. It’s one question, Eugene.”

 

“I’m not worried about my exam,” Eugene admitted.

 

“You’re worried about something,” he said confidently while he pointed his fork at Eugene, flinging some food bits in the process. “Got that crinkle on your forehead. That shit don’t just pop up for no reason.” Merriell paused to take a long drink from his glass and easily ignored it when a stream of soda ran down his chin and onto his shirt. “Unless you’re just getting your panties in a twist over my dining habits like usual and that crinkle is just you prepping to bitch me out.”

 

“No, surprisingly I’ve learned to accept your poor table manners,” Eugene sighed in defeat while Merriell grinned cockily at him with some bit of food stuck in between his teeth.

 

“Well then what’s up?” he asked as he returned to his food.

 

“My mom called me last night.”

 

“And what did the good Mrs. Sledge have to say?”

 

“Well for starters…she, uh, she knows that we’re together now,” Eugene started uneasily as he scratched the back of his neck. “I mean, she was going to find out eventually, I was going to tell her when I got back home but she found out and confronted me about it-”

 

“How’d she find out?” Shelton asked slowly.

 

“It was an accident but Sid kinda let something slip to her-”

 

“Phillips ratted you out?” he asked, sounding suddenly angry.

 

“It was an _accident_ and everything turned out fine in the end so it’s fine,” Eugene said firmly with a wave of his hand. “Sid says he owes me a huge one for the surprise phone intervention but we’re cool.”

 

“So… you’re mom’s cool with us?” Merriell asked cautiously. “She’s cool with you dating a guy?”

 

“…yes and no,” Eugene answered cryptically after a long moment, causing Shelton to frown.

 

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Eugene?”

 

“She’s okay with me being gay and she’s okay with the idea of me dating and having a boyfriend but…”

 

“But what, Eugene?” Merriell asked, his voice startlingly flat.

 

“She just wants to meet you,” Eugene finished. “She doesn’t really know much about you-”

 

“So pick up the phone and tell her about me,” he interrupted. “Problem solved.”

 

“I _have_ talked to her about you but she says that that’s not enough to really know a person. She wants to meet you in person. Sometime over the summer. You could come visit for a few days, we have plenty of guest rooms, I could show you around Mobile. We could bother Sid. It could be nice.”

 

Eugene watched as Merriell sat back in his hard chair and crossed his arms tightly across his chest. He took in the set of Shelton’s jaw, the rigidness of his body, and felt his optimism begin to fly away.

 

“Now I just don’t think that’s gonna work, Gene,” Merriell decided bitterly after a long moment of silence.

 

“Why not?”

 

“Come on, Eugene,” Merriell scoffed. “You really think me and your mama are gonna get along? A snowballs got a better chance in Hell.”

 

“It’s not about you and her getting along- although that’s what I hope happens –but she just wants to get to know you personally. Is that such a weird concept?” Eugene asked. He knew he was new to the whole relationship business but wasn’t it the normal thing for the significant other to meet the parents at some point? When Shelton stayed silent, Eugene let out a heavy sigh before he continued. “Mer, you know this isn’t so much a suggestion as a formal demand. She’s not gonna let up until this happens and if we don’t do this willingly, she’s gonna make it happen.”

 

“What’s she gonna do? Kidnap me?” Merriell asked incredulously.

 

“I would not put it past her,” Eugene laughed before he turned serious again. “Come on, Mer. It won’t be that bad. She wants it to happen and if it doesn’t…”

 

“What?” Merriell asked as he finally unfolded his arms from across his chest and reached absentmindedly into his pants pocket to pull out his scratched up lighter. He gave the lighter a quick flip before he continued. “She gonna _demand_ you don’t see me anymore?”

 

“Maybe,” Eugene answered quietly; he wouldn’t put it past his mother to do something so ridiculous, not that Eugene would let her push him around like that but still, it gave him some pause.

 

Eugene watched Merriell flick his lighter open and closed with a surly expression and waited for him to speak. Sure, Eugene could understand that this wasn’t the most desirable request but things could be worse. His mother just wanted to meet the guy Eugene loved; what was so wrong about that?

 

“When does she want this done by?” Merriell finally asked after a long pause.

 

“Probably by the end of summer but I mean, I feel like it’s like a Band-Aid: probably best to just do it quickly.”

 

“If that’s what you want,” Merriell growled as he got up violently from his seat, almost knocking over his chair in the process.

 

“Mer,” Eugene called after his boyfriend as he stormed around the table and towards the exit. Eugene paused to pick up his backpack before he went running after the other man. “Mer, where the hell are you going?”

 

“I gotta go study or some shit,” Shelton hissed, still flicking his lighter in hand.

 

Eugene reached out to grab Merriell’s shoulder in an attempt to stop him but Shelton just shrugged out of it before he picked up his pace and all but sprinted away from him, leaving Eugene standing alone and confused outside the front door of the food hall.

 

* * *

 

 “Can’t believe I lost track of time,” Carwood muttered to himself, annoyed, as he quickly double checked his backpack for all of his necessary items.

 

“It’s not like you’re late to an exam,” Ron pointed out from where he sat on the edge of Carwood’s bed. “Eddie understands.”

 

“I know. I just can’t help feeling bad I made him wait,” Carwood continued as he started to tear through his desk drawers in search of his notebook.

 

He felt a little flustered and disorientated, as if someone had tugged the rug out from underneath his feet and he was left falling on his ass. Carwood made plans to study with Eddie for their upcoming exam but after Ron stopped by his room for what was supposed to be just a moment Carwood got a little sidetracked. It was only when Eddie texted him a few minutes ago asking where he was that Lipton realized that he was fifteen minutes late. He knew that really it wasn’t a big deal but after having punctuality practically beaten into him as a child being late for anything made him feel frazzled.

 

“Ron, have you seen my red notebook? I can’t find it-”

 

Carwood turned and saw Ron smiling at him softly, his red notebook in hand.

 

“Oh, thank you. I’d lose my head if you weren’t here.”

 

“You’d do just fine if I weren’t here,” Ron said honestly as he got up from the bed and handed Carwood his notebook.

 

“I’d definitely be more stressed without you here.”

 

“I’m not so sure about that,” Ron said as he loosely gripped Carwood’s hips. “I just tried to help remove some of your stress but I just ended up adding to it.”

 

“We’ll just call it a wash then,” Carwood said with a smile before he stepped out of Ron’s grip and tossed his backpack of his shoulder. “Do you want to get dinner later?”

 

“Of course,” Ron decided before he gave Lipton a light push towards the door. “Go, you’re already late.”

 

“Right, I’ll text you later,” he promised before he exited the room and rushed down the stairs towards the fourth floor. When he reached room 401, Carwood found the door half open with Eddie sitting on the edge of his bed, guitar out on his lap while he strummed lazily. “Sorry, Eddie. Lost track of time.”

 

“Don’t worry about it, Lip,” Eddie shrugged as he lifted his guitar strap over his head. “Gave me more time to work on more enjoyable things.”

 

“It feels like we haven’t talked in a while,” Lipton said as he made himself comfortable. “Hectic couple of weeks.”

 

“End of the semester always is.”

 

“What have you been up to?” Carwood asked pleasantly as he pulled out all of his necessary materials and attempted to organize all of the notes and practice sheets he had hastily shoved into his backpack minutes before.

 

“Same old, same old,” Eddie answered. “Me and Andy have been looking into doing another road trip over the summer, maybe visit D.C., but right now it’s still in the planning phase. What about you, Lip? Any great changes as of late?”

 

“Uh, yeah actually. I’m going to be an R.A. next year. Got the confirmation the other day.”

 

“Really, Lip?” Eddie responded, the smile on his face completely sincere. “That’s great, man, congratulation.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“When Andy told me you’d applied I didn’t doubt that you’d get it,” Eddie continued as he gave Carwood a friendly slap on the back. “Do you know where you’ll be?”

 

“Right here,” Lip declared happily. “Hanks House was my first pick and I got it.”

 

“Well it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of each other next year too. Andy’s gonna be here again next year as well.”

 

“Really?” Lipton asked as he felt a wave of relief wash over him. “Good. At least now I know for sure there will be a few friendly faces around here.”

 

“No need to be nervous about next year,” Eddie said after a pause. Carwood didn’t want to admit it but he did feel a little nervous about the coming school year. The fact that Andy would be there to help him test the waters definitely helped to relieve some of his anxiety and he was sure Eddie could sense it. “You’re gonna be great. No doubt about it.”

 

“Thanks, Eddie, really.”

 

After that the two easily shifted into talk about their upcoming exam and what sections they felt needed more review than others. Carwood was halfway through rereading an old chapter from his text book when a thought struck him.

 

“Hey, Eddie?”

 

“Hmm?” he responded as he looked up from his own notes.

 

“Why haven’t you ever applied to be an R.A. before? If you ask me, you would have been a good R.A. too.”

 

“I thought about applying for a bit last year,” Eddie admitted. “But at the end of the day, I decided it just wasn’t for me and I think I made the right decision. Sure, if I had gone a different way and decided to take on that responsibility, I think I could have been a decent R.A. but just because someone’s got a good head on your shoulders doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the best person for the job.”

 

“How am I supposed to know if I made the right decision?” Lipton asked. “What if I’m not the best person for the job?”

 

“You seem like a guy who knows himself pretty well. I don’t think if you had any actual doubt about it, you wouldn’t have applied in the first place. And if you still are having second thoughts, ask anyone in this dorm what they think. They’ll all tell you the same thing.”

 

“What, that I’ll be amazing?” Lipton asked; he appreciated the ringing endorsements but it still felt like a bit of a broken record to him and made it tougher for him to believe it.

 

“Yeah. And that you’re an idiot for doubting yourself in the first place,” Eddie snorted. “To be a good leader, you can’t just be a nice guy or have a level head, you have to have something else, something special. Andy has it. Dick has it. _You_ have it.”

 

Carwood looked into Eddie’s blue eyes and felt something pass through him, something comforting that told him everything was going to be fine. He assumed this was what it felt like to have a wise older brother.

 

“You’re gonna be just fine.”

 

“Thanks, Eddie,” Carwood nodded, feeling better than he had before.

 

“Anytime, Lip.”

 

* * *

 

 The fourth floor was usually significantly quieter than the fifth floor but during finals week it was almost eerily quiet. The few noises that permeated the hall on that Tuesday afternoon usually came from the fifth floor up above. It felt a little off to be slightly removed from the madness of the fifth floor but right now Merriell preferred his hiding spot in Burgie’s room on the fourth floor over anywhere on the fifth floor or his favorite escape zone of the roof. Sure, he realized that hiding in his friend’s room was not the best or most original place to hide but it worked well enough for the moment. Merriell felt his cell phone buzz in his pants pocket but he chose to ignore it while he pretended to be extremely focused on his statistic notes. Only two people bothered to text him regularly and when he was sitting in the same room as one of them he could hazard a guess at who the text was from.

 

Shelton couldn’t bring himself to talk to Eugene right now. He knew it was idiotic and childish and he was throwing away what little time they had left together but it’s just how his fucked up brain worked.

 

The way Eugene put it, there wasn’t a way around his meeting with Mama Sledge and Merriell could only see one outcome from such a meeting. It didn’t take a genius to see the differences between Eugene and Merriell. One of them had a normal family waiting for them back home and the other was the last man standing in his family tree. One of them grew up around poverty and the other came from old money. Merriell had heard plenty of things about Mama Sledge and knew that for the most part she was a woman stuck in a different time, a former debutante who still put social status above all else. How long would he last before Mama Sledge deemed him unworthy of her son and kicked him to the curb; Merriell doubted he’d even make it into the house.

 

Didn’t Eugene see this? Didn’t he get that his mama was bound to throw him out the door the second she got a look at his ripped up jeans and tattered sneakers? Didn’t he realize that his mama would bring an end to them? How could he not see this…?

 

_“…probably best to just do it quickly.”_

 

Merriell felt his stomach sink as he thought back to Eugene’s words. He was the one who was pushing for this meeting as soon as possible. Maybe he _did_ realize the most probable outcome of this meeting. Maybe it was what Eugene really wanted, an easy out.

 

Shelton felt his phone begin to buzz again but this time it was the persistent vibration of a phone call instead of the short buzz of a text; Merriell quickly silenced the phone before it could continue.

 

“What?” Merriell grunted as he looked up and found Burgie’s eyes focused on him.

 

“You know, between you hiding in my room and continually ignoring your cell phone, I kinda get the feeling you’re trying to hide from someone,” Burgie pointed out.

 

“I’m just trying to study man,” Merriell snapped as he shuffled around some of his notes spread out in front of him. “Don’t need all these fucking distraction.”

 

“ _Wow,_ Snafu, you are a _terrible_ liar,” Burgie declared boldly which earned him a murderous look from his friend; most people in the dorm would have probably flinched at the look Shelton gave Burgin but by this point in the school year Burgie was immune to Shelton’s looks. “So,” Burgie continued once his friend went back to pretending to study, “you wanna talk about whatever crawled up your ass or you just wanna keep it buried inside and let it fester like usual?”

 

Shelton paused to give Burgie the finger before he buried himself back in his books and notes and dark thoughts. Burgie watched him for a moment before he let out a resigned sigh and went back to his own notes.

 

“Cool,” Burgie announced to his text book with a nod of his head, “fester it is then.”

 

* * *

 

 Evenings were always a little rowdier than mornings or afternoons, even during finals week. Webster had managed to finds a few solid quiet hours in the morning before he had to leave for his first exam but by the time he returned in the afternoon the noise level had increased. The noise only continued to grow as time went on, making it difficult for him to focus on his notes for his exam tomorrow. Some of the noise came from residents attempting to clean and pack away their rooms while other noises came from residents relieving a bit of their end of semester stress. David knew he could escape to the library if need be- it would be a lot less crowded at this hour –but he realized that the real thing hindering his studies couldn’t be escaped from in the confines of the library.

 

“ _Come on, Lucky_ ,” whined a familiar voice from outside the room.

 

“ _I gotta study_ ,” Webster could hear the small grin in Leckie’s voice as he walked closer to their shared room. _“My exam is in like, twelve hours.”_

 

_“Yeah so you need a stress reliever_ ,” said another familiar voice.

 

_“Just one beer man. It won’t hurt.”_

 

_“Maybe if I could actually manage to just have one beer and then leave_ ,” Leckie sighed before he opened up the dorm room door. “Hey, Web.”

 

“Hey,” David greeted before Leckie, Chuckler, Runner, and Hoosier entered the room.

 

“Come on, Lucky, you’ve been studying all day,” Chuckler persisted. “It won’t kill ya to call it quits a little early.”

 

“It _will_ kill precious brain cells,” Leckie pointed out as he set his backpack on top of his desk and began pulling books and notes out.

 

“So what if you lose a couple?” Runner shrugged. “You’ll still be smarter than the rest of us.”

 

“Runner, his ego doesn’t need any more inflating, stop,” Hoosier drawled from where he sat on the edge of Leckie’s bed.

 

“Web, don’t you think it’s a good idea to relieve some stress before a final?” Chuckler asked as he turned to face David. “Built up stress ain’t healthy. Hell, you should come join us too, man, you’re probably more wound up than Lucky.”

 

“Thanks for the offer but I’m gonna have to agree with Leckie: drinking kills brain cells and effects your memory. Neither of which will help me do well on my German exam tomorrow.”

 

“Why don’t you just ask your boyfriend for help,” Chuckler asked innocently. “Isn’t he like, completely fluent?”

 

At the mention of Joe, David felt his stomach twist uncomfortably. He hadn’t spoken to Joe in days, not since he stormed angrily out of his room. Something must have shown on his face because Runner let out a snort.

 

“Don’t tell me. You guys are fighting?” he asked, sounding completely unsurprised.

 

“When are they not fighting,” Hoosier asked, striking a nerve inside Web.

 

“Hey-”

 

“Boys, I think there should be a new rule in place,” Leckie said loudly before Webster was able to rise to their bait. “You’re only allowed to critique someone else’s relationship if you are also in a relationship. And since you all are single as all hell, you should probably shut your mouths.”

 

“Wow, way to take the fun out of everything,” Hoosier whined. “Does this rule carry over to next year or what?”

 

“I think you guys should probably clear out. Me and Web really need to study and I would say you guys do too but I know that at this point nothing is gonna save your asses.”

 

“And the hits just keep coming,” Runner sighed as he slowly walked towards the door.

 

“Whatever, more beer for us,” Chuckler grinned.

 

“Have fun studying,” Hoosier said dryly as he got up from Leckie’s bed.

 

“Oh we will,” Leckie assured him. “Me and Dave are gonna have a great time.”

 

“Don’t have too good of a time or I’m gonna have to let Vera and Joe know,” Hoosier smirked. “Can’t have those sort of secrets on my conscience.”

 

“You don’t have a conscience, Hoosier. Get out of here.”

 

Hoosier shrugged, unaffected with the accusation, before he exited the room with a lazy smile on his mouth. Leckie waited for the door to click closed behind the blond man before he turned to Webster.

 

“So what are you and Liebgott fighting about now?” Leckie asked as he collapsed on the edge of his bed and kicked his shoes off of his feet.

 

“Bob, I really don’t wanna talk about this right now,” David sighed as he turned back to his work.

 

“Hey, I could have let those three idiots go at you but I stopped them because I’m a good roommate.”

 

“So because you stopped them from prying into my personal business that means you’re allowed to pry?”

 

“Look at it this way, Web. We’ve been rooming together all year. I’ve seen you go through a hundred fights with Joe and every time you just keep it all inside instead of talking about it. It’s not good to bury your emotions.”

 

“Wow, you’re actually telling me not to bury emotions? That’s rich,” Web laughed as he thought back to the Stella dilemma and how Leckie chose to bury his emotions under a couple liters of alcohol.

 

“I’ve grown as a person, okay?” Leckie said with a roll of his eyes. “Seriously though, Web, what’d he do this time?”

 

“…Joe didn’t do anything,” Webster admitted after a long pause. “It’s my fault.”

 

“Oh really now? That’s a twist,” he commented, surprised. “You wanna elaborate on that point?”

 

“So you know how Joe’s parents are letting me stay with them for now, right?”

 

It had taken a while but eventually Webster got the full story of his parents out to Leckie and how Joe’s family basically adopted him. David remembered how after he finished talking Leckie grimaced and said something along of the lines of ‘and I thought my family was bad’.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Well the other day Joe came over here and told me that his mom had completely redecorated their guest room for me and bought me all these things and he said that his sisters wanted to take me shopping so I’d have more than just a couple outfits.”

 

“Wow, how dare they be so kind,” Leckie said flatly, causing Webster to huff in irritation.

 

“Now you sound just like Joe,” Webster snapped.

 

“Sorry but I don’t see what the issue is, Web.”

 

“It’s just-,” Webster stuttered angrily before he took a deep breath and forced it through his nose. “I understand that what they’re doing for me is amazing and I should be so grateful- I _am_ grateful -but it just makes me uncomfortable. I don’t know how to react to this kind of treatment. I’m not used to people being so…”

 

“Caring? Loving? Generous?”

 

“You mean the complete opposite of my family? Yeah,” David sighed. “Growing up with my family I was taught not to give handouts and if you _did_ give someone something that there had better be strings attached. But those thoughts don’t ever phase Joe’s family for a second. They just always want to help, constantly, whether I want it or not.”

 

“So basically you just wish that they would ease off a little?”

 

“Yeah, which is what I tried to tell Joe but he didn’t understand what I meant or maybe I didn’t explain myself correctly and he just blew up on me for it.”

 

“Well while I’ll never claim to be an expert on relationships, familial or romantic, I doubt that not talking to him about what’s bothering you is helping him understand any. You should probably just suck up your pride and go talk to him.”

 

“I know,” David sighed; he had thought about talking to Joe earlier today but when he passed by his room he found it empty.

 

“And when it comes to Joe’s family, I think you’re just gonna have to learn to deal with the love. If the rest of Joe’s family is as stubborn as Joe is I doubt that they’re gonna let up,” Leckie decided flatly. “It’s unfortunate that your blood family raised you like this and then threw you out on your ass but at least you found another family who loves you and wants to take care of you. Web, it could be so much worse.”

 

David nodded before he turned back to his work. Nothing Leckie said was something he hadn’t already told himself but there was just something about having someone else tell you what you already knew. Leckie was right: he could be do much worse right now. David didn’t know what would his life would be like right now if it weren’t for Joe Liebgott.

 

* * *

 

 It wasn’t exactly a normal thing for a student who had finally completed all of their final exams and was freed from cramming Hell to willingly spend their free time in a serious study session for a class they weren’t even in but then again, Babe never really considered himself a normal guy. When Babe first saw his finals week schedule two weeks ago he almost cried: he had two exams the first day, a final paper due the second day, and another two the second day. The going had been rather rough for a while but now that he managed to make through those three hellish days relatively unscathed, Babe was happy that he was able to finish his finals so early. Now while others were still tense and chugging coffee and other stimulants while they tried to find spare moments to pack and maybe eat, Babe could do whatever the damn hell he pleased. Right now, whatever the hell he pleased was to spend as much time with Gene as possible before they had to split up to head back to their respective homes. Unfortunately- or perhaps fortunately? –Gene had not been forced to take five finals in three days so by Wednesday night, he still had one more final set for Thursday morning. So instead of helping to plan the end of the year party or packing or catching up on some much needed sleep, Babe was crammed inside of Spina and Gene’s room as he occasionally helped a number of extremely stressed pre-med majors study for their exams tomorrow.

 

Spina, Renee, Sidney, and Renee’s friend Anna were all spread out across the small room while Babe and Gene camped out on top of Gene’s bed. Spina, Renee, and Sidney were all first years so they stressed over their chemistry exam that was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Gene and Anna, who were both second years, struggled with the much deadlier task of organic chemistry while occasionally sharing notes and checking answers for the younger students. Babe had started off the evening by reading off questions for the room to answer but after Babe struggled to simply _read_ some of the questions and an overly-stressed Sidney got snappy with him he was forced to stop. Now Babe passed the time by playing on his cell phone while he rested his head on Gene’s shoulder; he really was beat after the past three hellish days.

 

“Sorry this isn’t exactly the most thrilling of activities,” Gene apologized in a low voice as he flipped through his complicated looking notes; Babe felt himself getting a headache just by looking at the ink-heavy pages.

 

“Don’t apologize,” Babe yawned as he paused his fiftieth game of Temple Run. “I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to come over tonight.”

 

“Well I appreciate the moral support,” Gene said quietly as he turned and smiled warmly at Babe, his face now hovering only an inch or two away from Babe’s.

 

“Anytime.”

 

Babe tilted his head slightly so that he was able to press his mouth against Gene’s. The kiss was simple and brief but it was still enough to make Babe’s heart pick up the pace.

 

“Uh, excuse me but you do you mind doing that somewhere else?” Sidney snapped, causing Gene and Babe to break apart; Babe couldn’t help but grin at the pink blush that coated Gene’s face for getting caught red handed. “It’s hard enough to focus on this stuff without you two making out in the corner. Babe’s not even helping you anymore, why is he still here?”

 

“Sidney-” Gene began to calmly before he was cut off by Renee’s loud and firm voice.

 

“I think it is time for a break!” Renee declared with a clap of her hands.

 

“What?” Sidney asked as he turned his tired eyes on Renee. “Why?”

 

“Because _you_ need some time to clear your head, Anna needs another coffee, one of the boys probably needs a cigarette by now and being stuck in this room stressing for hours on end is not good for anyone,” Renee explained in a commanding voice.

 

“Sounds like a great idea,” Spina agreed as he got up from where he sat on the edge of his bed and stretched, clearly eager to keep the peace.

 

“Up, Sidney, get up,” Renee ordered as she sprung easily to her feet and motioned for Sidney to do the same.

 

“I don’t need a break,” he argued; his pale face and bloodshot eyes told a different tale.

 

“ _Yes,_ you do,” she persisted, undeterred.

 

“Come on, Sidney,” Anna ordered as she got to her feet and grabbed one of Sidney’s arms. “You’re going to help me do a coffee run.”

 

“But-”

 

“Are you really going to let a lady carry all that coffee by herself?” Anna asked; Babe could see the small smirk on her face and he knew she knew that she had won.

 

“Fine,” Sidney grumbled as he shook his arm out of Anna’s grip and got up off of the floor. “But the second I get back, breaks over.”

 

“We’ll see about that,” Anna said skeptically as she grabbed her purse.

 

“Take your time,” Renee called out with a smile as the two exited the room, clearly pleased with herself.

 

“Smooth move there, Renee,” Babe congratulated. “Thought that there was going to be a blow out there for a second.”

 

“Sid would not have liked the Doc angry,” Spina giggled. “Poor kid probably would have shit a brick.”

 

“I wasn’t about to yell at him,” Gene said with a shake of his head. “The kids stressed. I get it. Besides what’ya know about me being angry, Spina?”

 

“I heard you yell at Snafu once and I gotta say, it was a little scary. And I wasn’t even getting the full force.”

 

“I wasn’t yelling at Shelton-”

 

“Well then I’m absolutely terrified to know what you yelling _does_ look like,” Spina concluded.

 

“Okay enough of that,” Renee said with a wave of her hand, as if it were enough to push away the conversation. “We took a break so that we wouldn’t fight. Don’t make me kick you out too, Ralph.”

 

“This is my room,” Spina pouted.

 

“Well then you better behave or you’ll be out on a food run,” Renee finished.

 

“If you wanna keep arguing, Spina, I could go for a sandwich,” Babe said with a grin.

 

“If you want a sandwich you can get it yourself. You aren’t even studying.”

 

“I’m offering moral support,” he clarified; Babe caught Gene grin softly out of the corner of his eye. “And I deserve to relax after the past few hellish days.”

 

“How were your exams, Edward?” Renee asked pleasantly.

 

“Ehh, I think I could have done better on one or two of them but I doubt I failed any of them so there’s that,” Babe answered with a shrug. “It’s over, that’s what’s important now. I’m officially on vacation time.”

 

“And yet you choose to spend your first night of freedom in a place like this,” Renee said with a knowing smile.

 

“He’s just trying to spend as much time with the Doc as possible before they have to separate,” Spina announced bluntly with a teasing grin on his face. Babe threw one of Gene’s pillows at him childishly, which Spina dodged easily, as if he expected it.

 

“Can’t you two act your ages?” Renee asked; her voice was tired but she still was smiling so both boys knew they were still in the clear.

 

“No,” Babe and Spina declared proudly at the same time.

 

“How do you deal with these two trouble makers every day, Eugene?”

 

“Takes some practice.”

 

Renee shook her head and muttered something to herself as she grabbed her nearby bag and pulled out a half-eaten slab of chocolate. She broke off a hunk and offer some to everyone else before she continued.

 

“So… do any of you have any plans for summer yet?”

 

“Probably working at my old high school job for a few months,” Spina shrugged. “Nothing exciting.”

 

“Nothing planned,” Babe answered.

 

“Uh huh, sure you’ve got nothing planned,” Spina said skeptically.

 

“What are you talking about?” Babe asked.

 

“I find it a little hard to believe that you two haven’t made plans to visit each other yet,” Spina explained.

 

“Well we’ve talked about it, yeah,” Gene admitted. “Just haven’t found the time to hammer out the details yet.”

 

“Are you going to visit each other?” Renee asked with a grin, intrigued. “Or just pick one spot?”

 

“Well I mean, Gene’s already met Babe’s family. It’s only fair if Babe heads down south to meet the Doc’s family too,” Spina pointed out. “Gotta meet those in-laws.”

 

“Very important,” Renee agreed.

 

“Can you two please stop talking about us like we’re not here?” Babe asked grumpily.

 

“Feel free to join in the conversation at any time,” Renee offered simply. “Then we won’t be talking over you.”

 

“Don’t you guys have anything more entertaining to talk about?” Gene sighed.

 

“Trust me if I had something more interesting to talk about I fucking would but sadly I don’t,” Ralph said. “Gene, you knows how it is; our lives- or lack thereof –revolve around our school work. We don’t have time to find anything entertaining to talk about.”

 

“So your solution is our love life?”

 

“Goes to show you just how dire the circumstances are, Babe. You got anything more interesting to talk about?”

 

Thankfully Babe was saved from having to think of something more interesting to talk about when Eugene knocked on the half open door and poked his head inside.

 

“Sorry to interrupt, guys,” Eugene apologized, ever the polite southern man.

 

“No problem, we were taking a break anyways,” Babe replied. “What’s up?”

 

“Uh,” Eugene started, looking a little uncomfortable. “I was just wondering if any of you guys had heard from Mer recently. He’s… he hasn’t been answering any of my texts or calls recently.”

 

Babe could see that Eugene was desperately trying to appear normal but he came off as anything but. The clench of his jaw showed Eugene’s struggle to keep his emotions at bay; Babe could hear the hurt in his voice and see the growing frustration and anger in his eyes. It made Babe angry. Who the fuck did this Snafu Shelton think he was jerking around his friend yet again? Babe thought that Shelton was done playing games.

 

“I already went and asked Joe and Burgie if they had seen him at all today but they haven’t,” Eugene continued before he gestured towards Gene. “Just thought you might have seen him or know where he’s run off to.”

 

“Sorry, Sledge, but I haven’t seen him,” Roe said honestly. “Do you want me to help you look for him?”

 

“No, don’t worry about it, you have finals to worry about still-”

 

“I don’t. I’m done,” Babe declared as he got up from the bed. “I’ll help you track him down.”

 

“No, Babe, really, don’t worry about it,” Eugene insisted firmly. “I can handle this.”

 

Eugene watched and waited for a long moment for Babe to deescalate. He appreciated that his friend was so ready and willing to help fight his battles but this really was his own issue and battle to fight.

 

“Of course you can handle this, Eugene,” Babe decided before he sat back down slowly. “But if you don’t want to do this on your own, you don’t have to.”

 

“I appreciate it, Babe,” Eugene thanked him before he took a step back into the hallway. “Good luck with your exams.”

 

Once Eugene was back in the hallway he was able to drop his façade some. He was hurt, there was no denying it. First Merriell stormed out on him without explanation and then he chose to act like a child and hide from him. Eugene thought that when they got they got together it would bring an end to Merriell’s bullshit games. Not only was Eugene sick of these games but Merriell’s response to his mother’s request left him feeling completely at a loss. He thought he had their relationship figured out. He thought that when they got together they were serious and didn’t it make sense to meet family and parents at this stage?

 

Unless Eugene had misread the situation completely…maybe they weren’t actually that serious. Maybe Merriell wasn’t overreacting and maybe Eugene was the biggest idiot in the entire dorm.

 

Eugene suddenly felt hot and he knew that the last vestiges of his façade were crumbling. The air in the hallway suddenly felt stuffy and all the noise around him turned muffled. He needed to get the hell out of there. Eugene felt his eyes start to well up and his throat constrict as he pushed the stairwell door open; his face was wet before he managed to exit the building.

 

The cool night air helped but it couldn’t stop the tears or the chocking sounds Eugene made as he tried to keep himself quiet. Not feeling in the mood to be found by someone walking back to the dorm or seen by someone looking out their window, Eugene set off down the sidewalk.

 

He was an idiot. He was an idiot and now he would have to explain to his mom somehow that no, she really didn’t have to meet Merriell. He was an idiot for making assumptions about their relationship and now he was heartbroken and embarrassed and angry because this wasn’t all his fault. Merriell could have brought up a conversation about their relationship weeks ago. Sure, it was unlikely Merriell would have ever willingly chose to talk about his feelings or difficult topics like relationships but this wasn’t all on Eugene.

 

“Fuck,” Eugene hissed as he paused suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes in an attempt to stop crying.

 

Why did this have to happen now? Things were going so well for him these last few weeks and it all had to come crashing down during the last few days of the year. He hated that this had to happen now and sully these last few days with his friends but he guessed that it was probably best this got out and into the open sooner rather than later. Better he knew the truth before he went back home with a head full of fantasies and-

 

“Eugene.”

 

Eugene froze but he couldn’t bring himself to pull his hands away from his eyes just yet. He wasn’t ready to deal with him just yet. He didn’t want to do this when he was so unhinged. Fuck, he just had the worst luck.

 

“Eugene,” Merriell repeated, his voice soft and hesitant.

 

Eugene let his hands drop from his face and turned towards the voice. He hadn’t even noticed that someone was sitting on the bench that was tucked away right off the path but then again Merriell had a talent for hiding in plain sight.

 

“What’s…what’s wrong?” he asked quietly as he got up from his seat and took a slow step towards him.

 

Eugene opened his mouth but all that came out was a rough huff of air; it still felt like someone had a vice around his throat. Eugene tried to clear his throat but the noise that came out of his mouth sounded more like a sob than anything else. God he hated this. Eugene closed his eyes and clenched his fists in an attempt to bring his emotions back under his control.

 

“Eugene.”

 

Merriell’s voice was only a few inches away from Eugene now. He felt Merriell reach for one of Eugene’s fists but he jerked it back before he could hold onto it.

 

“Don’t,” Eugene ordered as he opened his eyes again.

 

Eugene watched as Merriell backed away slightly, his eyes wide as if he were a wild animal on guard. Words still stuck in his throat when he tried to talk but honestly Eugene wasn’t sure how exactly he would start. There were too many thoughts and feelings running through his mind for him to speak coherently even if he could.

 

“Why…” Eugene finally managed to force out after a long pause. Merriell didn’t respond. He just continued to stand frozen in front of him. “Why do you always do this?” Eugene took a deep breath and was grateful when his breath came out strong and even. His eyes still felt too wet for his comfort but he could also feel his anger resurge inside of him. When he spoke again it didn’t sound broken, it sounded heated. “Whenever things get too difficult you always just run and hide until the problem goes away or-or something forces you to deal with the issue. Why do you _always_ do that?”

 

Merriell finally dropped his head and broke eye contact. Eugene let Merriell fiddle with his fingers nervously before he had enough.

 

“Answer me,” Eugene demanded.

 

“…I’m sorry,” Merriell apologized as he continued to fiddle nervously.

 

“That’s not good enough. Why do you keep putting me through this shit, Mer,” Eugene asked angrily. The sound of his name seemed to spark something in Merriell because he finally looked back up at Eugene. “You do realize that you _keep_ doing this same shit to me. Do you get how much this fucking hurts me? Do you even care?”

 

“Eugene-”

 

“Do you even care about us?” Eugene snapped before he felt his heart ache painfully. “Or do you… do you not think we’re serious for there to be an ‘us’?”

 

“What?”

 

“Just say it to my face, Mer, how serious do you think we are?” Eugene continued while he fought to stay strong against the pain he felt. “Because I thought we were pretty serious. At least I wanted us to be…and I thought that’s what you wanted to be too but clearly I misread the situation.” The end of the sentence got clipped on the way out as Eugene’s throat began to restrict again with more tears. Eugene dropped his head and let out a small self-pitying sigh. “What an idiot,” he hissed to himself.

 

“You’re not an idiot,” Merriell said firmly.

 

“Oh really?” he asked bitterly. “Why is that?”

 

“….because I _do_ want that,” Merriell admitted softly, causing Eugene to stare at him. “I want us to be serious, Eugene. I… Why do you think I don’t?”

 

“Oh I don’t know, Mer,” Eugene snapped. “Maybe it has something to do with the way you ran away when I asked you to meet my family? The way you up and leave when shit gets too difficult?”

 

“Sorry,” Merriell repeated lamely.

 

“‘Sorry’ isn’t gonna cut it, Mer, you’ve got to start explaining yourself.”

 

By this point Eugene half expected Merriell to turn and run away but thankfully Merriell stayed firmly in front of him. He didn’t speak for a long time but Eugene could see the gears working in his brain.

 

“Why did you freak out when I asked you to meet my family?” Eugene repeated in an attempt to move the conversation along. “You do realize that if you want this to be serious then meeting my family is going to have to happen eventually.”

 

“Yeah I get that, I just…” Merriell desperately wanted to reach into his pockets and pull out a smoke but he figured that now was not the time. He had to do this. “You’ve seen what my home is like, Eugene.” Merriell watched as Eugene’s forehead creased in confusion, clearly not expecting this switch in conversation. “My Mama ran out on me. My Dad drank himself to death. I come from nothing…you really think your Mama is gonna take kindly to someone like me? You think she gonna meet me and find out how fucking different we are and just accept me with open arms?”

 

“Mer.”

 

“Here at school, it’s easier for me to ignore the differences but the second I step foot on the Sledge family estate they gonna be able to tell in an instance. They ain’t even gonna let me inside, Eugene. They’re gonna make you kick me to the curb before I get a chance to dirty the sheets,” Merriell sighed. “I don’t blame them. No respectable parent would let their kid be with a guy like me.”

 

“So that’s why you freaked out and ran away? Why you’ve been ignoring me for days? You _honestly_ think that if you meet my parents we’re gonna break up?” Eugene asked. Merriell just shrugged in response. “Mer, we aren’t gonna break up just because you meet my folks.”

 

“You say that now.”

 

“Yeah I say that now and I’m still gonna say it when you come to meet them,” Eugene insisted tiredly. “Mer, when it comes to you, I don’t give a shit what my parents think. I’m not my idiot brother, who’s so whipped by my mother that he once dumped a girl because she didn’t like her. Hell, if I did everything my mother wanted me to do I would have never come to school here in the first place. If my mother doesn’t like you, oh well, but if you visiting gets her off of my back then we can make it through this. At the end of the day all I care about is that I’m with you, my mother’s opinions be damned.”

 

At Eugene’s words Merriell felt something unknot in his chest. He wasn’t sure if he had ever felt more relieved in his life than he did right now. Eugene didn’t want to break up with him. He wasn’t pushing this visit so that he’d have a quicker escape from him. Merriell let out a deep sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.

 

“I thought… I thought that you wanted to break up,” Merriell admitted, feeling a little foolish.

 

“What?” Eugene exclaimed in confusion.

 

“I thought that you realized that your mom would hate me if we met and that she’d tell you to ditch me or something and you’d use that as an excuse to break up with me.”

 

“Why do you think I want to break up with you, Mer?” he asked softly.

 

Merriell let his hand drop from his hair as he shrugged.

 

“It’s just in my experience good things…good things don’t last,” Merriell admitted wearily. “And Eugene, you’re the best damn thing that ever happened to me. I know it’s stupid but in my fucked up mind that just means that you should have already been long gone by now.”

 

“Merriell,” Eugene said gently before he took a step forwards and pulled him into a tight hug. With his face tucked against Merriell’s neck Eugene whispered, “You deserve to have good things in your life.”

 

“I’m sorry I ran and hid again,” he apologized.

 

“It’s okay.”

 

“No it’s not,” Merriell disagreed. “I need to stop fucking doing that…been doing that shit for way too long. When I was younger, whenever my dad would get to be too much, when I couldn’t deal with him anymore, I’d just run. Maybe I’d hide somewhere along the way, other times I wouldn’t stop until I couldn’t run no more. Somewhere along the way, I never learned a better way to deal with shit. Hell, I ran all the way to California so I wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore.”

 

Eugene didn’t say anything; now that Merriell was finally opening up he didn’t want to stop him by saying something and possibly causing the whole process to shudder to a halt. Instead Eugene ran his fingers comfortingly through Merriell’s hair in an attempt to coax him along.

 

“When it comes to you, Eugene, I still can’t find a better way to deal with shit,” Merriell admitted, feeling frustrated. “I got scared and I still just up and left before things could get worse.”

 

“You were scared?” Eugene asked, sounding surprised. “Why were you scared?”

 

Merriell was sure Eugene could feel his heart hammering against his chest it was beating so fast. The hands that gripped the back of Eugene’s t-shirt were shaking. He felt the urge to bolt inside of him but he pushed it down and fought against the feeling. He couldn’t run away anymore. He had to stay put and say exactly what the fuck was on his mind for once. Eugene deserved that much.

 

“I was scared that I was gonna lose you because really, Eugene, you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

 

He had to do it. He had known it for weeks now. He had to stop hiding it. It needed to be said, even if Merriell felt as if he was going to be sick.

 

“I love you.”

 

Merriell felt the hand in his hair freeze and he was sure that he stopped breathing. He had no memory of ever saying those words to anyone before. Perhaps he might have said them to his mother when he was young and thought she loved him too but he didn’t have a clear memory of it. It felt odd but also like something that made complete sense.

 

“W-what?” Eugene stuttered as he pulled back some from Merriell, just enough so that he could look him in the eyes.

 

At first Eugene was sure that his ears had misheard but as he looked into Merriell’s pale eyes and found them looking wide and fearful he knew he had heard correctly. He had never seen Merriell look so scared, not even when their plane hit a really bad bout of turbulence on the way back to PCU from New Orleans.

 

Merriell loved him.

 

Eugene felt a twinge in his cheeks; it took him a second for him to realize that it was because of a smile that was trying to split his face into two.

 

“You love me?” Eugene asked giddily as he moved his hands from the back of Merriell’s head to cup his face.

 

He had never felt like this before. His body felt pleasantly warm and it was as if his veins were filled with soda water. There was a sensation in the pit of his stomach not unlike the feeling he got the first time he went on a rollercoaster when he was twelve. Eugene felt Merriell nod his head in his grip but he stayed silent and his eyes remained wide and terrified; it was then that Eugene realized that Merriell was waiting for verbal confirmation of Eugene’s feelings before he dared relax. Still smiling from ear to ear, Eugene tipped their foreheads together, and kept his eyes locked with Merriell’s.

 

“I love you too, Mer,” Eugene declared.

 

Merriell’s jaw dropped involuntarily at Eugene words and he felt as if someone had suddenly knocked the air out of his lungs. He couldn’t tell if his heart had stopped beating or if it was simply racing so fast he couldn’t even feel it anymore. It was then, staring in Eugene’s warm brown eyes, that Merriell realized something: not only did he have no memory of ever telling someone that he loved them, but he had no memory of anyone ever telling _him_ that he was loved.

 

“Fuck,” Merriell sighed as his face slipped out of Eugene’s grip.

 

“Mer, are you okay?” Eugene asked as Merriell buried his face into the side of Eugene’s neck.

 

Was he okay? He was pretty sure he was shaking, it was still a struggle to get air properly into his lungs, and he was mildly embarrassed at by the itching sensation he felt in his eyes but underneath that there was such a light, warm feeling filling his entire body.

 

Eugene loved him.

 

Someone, but not just anyone, loved him. Eugene Sledge, a guy who should have been lightyears out of his league, who knew all of his dirty laundry, who had seen first-hand the shit show that was his home life, and who still willingly chose him and stayed with him regardless of all that, loved him.

 

“Yeah, Eugene,” Merriell sniffed as he pulled his face out of the crook of Eugene’s neck and face him again. “Better than ever.”

 

Merriell kissed Eugene and felt his heart soar. Sure, the first time they kissed was amazing but this, this was on a whole different level.

 

When they finally broke apart, Eugene rested his head on top of Merriell’s shoulder with his face pointed away from his neck, perhaps done so in an attempt to get some much needed oxygen. Sometime later- Merriell wasn’t sure if it was one minute or ten –Eugene let out a soft laugh and he felt Eugene shake his head against his shoulder.

 

“What is it?”

 

Eugene waited until he was able to look Merriell in the eyes before he spoke.

 

“It’s nothing. It’s just that,” Eugene started, smiling as he jerked his head towards the stone bench that sat a few feet away, “you do realize that this is where we first met? On that bench.”

 

Merriell looked at the bench and remembered his first night on campus, how he had been wandering around the campus alone while everyone else was getting to know each other. He had stopped for a smoke and decided it would be funny to spook the fresh-faced freshman who has seemingly passed out on the bench near the dorm. Merriell remembered how Eugene had tried to introduce himself properly- he would have made his Mama proud –and how Merriell had rebuffed him without a thought.

_Would you look at us now_ , Merriell thought to himself.

 

“Goes to show you how much can change in just a couple months.”

 

* * *

 

 As the school year started to enter its final days, all sense of order and organization seemed to completely disappear. No one, not even the likes of Brad Colbert, seemed to have the time or energy to care about the new level of disorder Hanks House reached by Thursday. Now that it was getting down to the wire, students all throughout the dorm seemed to realize that they needed to completely clear out and clean up their rooms. Garbage cans overflowed in the hallways with months’ worth of garbage and random items students didn’t feel like carting all the way back home. Everything from moldy food and discarded clothes items to deflated bean bag chairs and discarded textbooks filled the dumpsters behind the building. Students ran throughout the halls in search of an item that they hadn’t seen in months but knew they came to PCU with while other students ended up with half-heartedly attempted to return found items to anyone who wanted them. The common room was a mess of overstuff lost and found boxes and pieces of furniture for sale.

 

Even though final exams were still in progress by that Thursday, very little studying got done inside the confines of Hanks House by then. Students either took cover in the library or took the time to calculate the lowest possible grade they needed to pass before they threw their notes away and ran to take part in a final round of Rock Band or Call of Duty or to play a deciding game of air hockey that would end a yearlong grudge match. Others put their energy into making sure that the beach party set for Friday night would be the most memorable event of the entire year. All of the usual suspects were part of the planning along with a number of people who had finished their finals early and were looking for something to kill time until Friday night.

 

“I know I say this every time we plan a party but we gotta make this the best party we’ve ever done,” Ray declared from where he sat on the floor of Luz and Perconte’s room. If anyone were to walk into the room it might look like Ray Person was actually studying for finals, what with all of his extensive notes and schematics laid out in front of him, when in reality he was simply engrossed in creating the ideal party. After so many parties, Luz couldn’t help but admit that Ray was right: there was a science to creating the perfect party. “What the fuck can we do to top all of our other parties? Like, we threw some real fucking bangers. It’s times like these that I almost wish we didn’t go as hard at the start.”

 

“I don’t see why you put so much work into all this planning,” Lewis declared from where he lounged in Luz’s desk chair, flask in hand. “In my opinion all you really need is a shit ton of alcohol and some music and you’re good. These are college kids after all; we’re easily appeased by alcohol and free t-shirts.”

 

“That’s not how I roll, homes. Either go big or go home.”

 

“In this case it’s go big and then go home,” George pointed out from where he sat half inside of his closet; it was amazing how much shit he managed to shove in his closet in the span of nine months. He also couldn’t believe he brought so much to school in the first place. “You know next semester I’m packing light. If this shit hasn’t seen the light of day since last semester, clearly I didn’t need it that much.”

 

“Maybe next year you should just try not to be such a pig and organize your shit,” Frank suggested dryly.

 

“No promises, Frank, but since you did willingly agree to live with this hot mess again next year, I’ll definitely at least make an attempt at cleaner living,” George declared before he dove back into the pits of his closet.

 

“As always I’m impressed by your level of commitment,” Frank said sarcastically.

 

“I’m people pleaser, Perc, it’s what I do.”

 

“How far of an extension cord do you think I can buy on such short notice?” Ray asked as he looked at what appeared to be a map of the campus. “Cus I got a hundred footer but I don’t know if it’s gonna be enough.”

 

“What the hell do you need hundreds of feet of extension cords for?” Skinny asked as he halfheartedly looked at his astronomy notes.

 

“Smoke machine, duh. And the strobe lights.”

 

“Don’t you think that’s a little excessive?” Walt asked.

 

“No, excessive would be having a bouncing castle,” Luz’s voice range out from inside his closet.

 

“Sore subject, Luz, that’s not cool bro,” Ray warned.

 

“What’s the issue with the bouncy castle?” Nix asked, sounding only partially interested.

 

“Person wanted to rent a fucking bouncy castle but not only was it too expensive to rent and would probably be too difficult to blow up but Colbert found out about it and started going on and on about zoning codes and how impractical it would have been,” Walt answered. “So we had to drop the idea.”

 

“It would have been perfect,” Ray pouted. “And I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for that stupid, meddling Viking.”

 

“I dunno, I kinda agree with the man,” Luz admitted.

 

“Ow, what the fuck, man? Way to stab me in the back right in front of my face,” Ray exclaimed dramatically.

 

“Ray, when it comes to parties you are a genius and I kinda think you should drop out and become a party planner or whatever but sometimes you gotta know when to not go too big,” George responded as he crawled out of his closet. “Sometimes less it more.”

 

“Just because that line works sometimes on the ladies does not mean that it’s gonna work here,” Ray quipped.

 

“I’m serious man. Think back to those earlier parties at the beginning of the school yeah. There weren’t any smoke machines or bouncy castles and everyone still had a blast,” George pointed out before he lifted up a white cardboard box he found in his closet. It was a Twister box. “You remember this shit? First party we ever had in this building, not a drop of booze, and everyone had a fucking blast over this shit.”

 

“Babe split his fucking lip wide open,” Frank remembered with a grin.

 

“Ya know I bet there’s still some of his blood on here,” Luz murmured as he opened the box to see if he was correct.

 

“That’s so unsanitary,” Frank shuddered.

 

“Relax, Frank, you got an immune system for a reason,” Luz muttered, unconcerned.

 

“So what you’re saying homes is that I should just throw all this shit out the window,” Ray started as he motioned to all the plans laid out in front of him, “and just put out a fucking twister mat?”

 

“Well maybe not that extreme but I think you’ve reached that point where you’re overthinking it, man.”

 

For a long moment Ray kept his eyes locked with Luz’s before he glanced down at his extensive plans and notes and heaved a heavy sigh.

 

“Fuck it,” Ray declared before he grabbed all of his notes and tossed them into the air. “If we just get everyone really drunk they won’t remember if there was a smoke machine or not.”

 

“That’s the spirit.”

 

“Now, who wants to get their ass kicked in Rock Band one last time?”

 

* * *

 

 As David walked up the stairs up to the fifth floor he couldn’t remember the last time he had been so tired. Instead of sleeping last night he spent the night poring over his notes in preparation for his last final exam of the year. What David wanted most right now was to lay down for a few hours until he was inevitably dragged off to the party by some member of the fifth floor but David knew there was one last thing he needed to do before he could.

 

It felt weird to walk down the fifth floor hallway and find some rooms almost completely packed away now. Everyone on the fifth floor would still be here for one more night- none of them were about to miss one last party –but most of them would be gone within twenty-four hours. It wasn’t until this moment that it really hit David that this was the end, somehow in the blink of an eye a whole school year passed by, and soon they would all be parting different ways. Sure, they would all still be attending PCU next fall but they wouldn’t all be in the same dorm, wouldn’t even all be living on campus.

 

The thought of finality made David feel even wearier and it chipped away at his resolve that was keeping him from collapsing on his bed. Pushing through his exhaustion, Webster walked past his dorm room and continued down the hall to room 510. The door was halfway open and from what David could see the room was in disarray as someone inside angrily packed away their belongings.

 

“Joe,” David said as he pushed the door open the rest of the way. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

 

Joe paused his packing just long enough to throw an angry look over his shoulder at David.

 

“Yeah you can talk, Web,” Joe grumbled. “But if you came here hoping you could trick me into apologizing, you’re fat outta luck. I didn’t do shit wrong for once and I ain’t about to grovel just to make you feel better, okay?”

 

“Okay, Joe,” Webster nodded before he took a step into the room, feeling like an intruder.

 

“Well go on,” Joe snapped.

 

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for the other day and I wanted try to explain myself a little better,” Webster started. Joe paused in his movements but he still kept his back to him. He took it as a good sign. “I know I sounded a little ungrateful the other day and that’s not how I wanted to come off. It’s the complete opposite of how I feel, Joe, because I really am so, so grateful for everything you and your family has done for me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” David felt something catch in his throat but he kept pushing through. “I know you all mean well but I’m just not used to it. My parents… they would have never done anything like this. They raised me to not give handouts or to help family and how fucked up is that? To tell your children not to even help each other? I hate it. I really do. And because of their poisonous rhetoric I get uncomfortable and feel overwhelmed when decent people try to do something nice for me. Even though I’ve been trying to distance myself from them for years I still sometimes hear my dad’s voice in the back of my head, telling me I’m wrong or I’m weak or whatever and sometimes it’s harder to ignore that voice than others.”

 

Joe finally turned around and stared at him impassively. He didn’t say anything but he didn’t seem angry so David continued.

 

“So if I came off as ungrateful, it was just because I felt overwhelmed by your family’s generosity and I didn’t know how to react. I’m sorry.”

 

“You were overwhelmed?” Joe asked quietly, face still unreadable.

 

“Yeah. And jealous,” David admitted with a sad smile. “Cus you’re right, Joe. My family is a piece of shit and I wish I got a family like yours that actually loves each other. Instead I got my family, who still is somehow able to control me without them even being here.”

 

David wasn’t sure what else he could possibly say. He already felt exhausted and now he felt emotionally raw. If Joe was still upset with him after all that, well, he figured he just go lay down and still hope he had a place to stay for the summer when he woke up.

 

“You’re an idiot,” Joe sighed; before David’s stomach could twist too much or he could say anything else, Joe continued. “You _did_ get a family like mine…it just took you nineteen years to get it. Better late than never, right?”

 

“Yeah,” David agreed with a nod and a smile, feeling immensely relieved as Joe moved towards him.

 

He had a family. A family that loved him and accepted him.

 

“And when it comes to you being all uncomfortable with the love thing?” Joe continued as he lightly gripped Joe’s hips and pulled him closer. “Well, there’s no stopping my mom or my sisters so you’re just gonna have to learn to live with it.”

 

“I had a feeling you were gonna say something like that,” David sighed as he rested his forehead against Joe’s.

 

“Yeah well, occasionally you’re a pretty smart guy. I’m sure you’ll be a fast learner,” Joe muttered before he tilted his head upwards and kissed Webster softly. “Sorry I kinda blew up on you the other day. I probably could have given you a better chance to explain yourself.”

 

“It’s alright,” Web said as he attempted to stifle a yawn.

 

“Did you sleep at all last night? Who am I kidding, of course you didn’t,” Joe said with a roll of his eyes. “Why sleep and give you brain a chance to rest when you can just reread the same notes sheet until your brain goes to mush.”

 

“Hey I did just fine on my exam this morning.”

 

“How would you know? You were probably sleep deprived as hell. Who knows if you were even taking the right exam!”

 

“Don’t be ridiculous. I wasn’t that tired, Joe,” Webster yawned.

 

“Uh huh, sure you weren’t,” Joe muttered skeptically before he slid his hands off of Webster’s hips and reached out for one of his hands. “Come on,” he ordered as he jerked his head towards his bed, “Lay down.”

 

“My room is just down the hall, Joe. Why can’t I just lay down there?” David asked as he followed Joe’s orders and sat down on the edge of Joe’s bed and worked off his shoes.

 

“Just get in,” Joe insisted as he lifted up his messed up covers for Webster to crawl under. “I’ll wake you up when it’s time to head down to the party. And I don’t wanna hear any complaining about being too tired to go. It’s your fault you stayed up all damn night.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, Joe, I got it,” David mumbled as he got comfortable under Joe’s covers; his eyelids immediately felt heavy and he doubt that he would be able to stay up for another minute.

 

David closed his eyes and felt the bed dip on the edge, presumably from Joe sitting down; he was too tired to open his eyes to check for sure. He felt a hand land softly in his hair and he couldn’t help but let out a content sigh.

 

If someone came up to him a year ago and told him that this was where he’d end up, he probably wouldn’t have believed it. So much had changed for David in such a short amount of time it was still a little staggering to think of everything that had happened over the course of the year. He remembered how nine months ago he sat crying in a hotel room, more alone than ever before and desperately hoping he hadn’t just completely destroyed his life. Now Webster had real friends, a family who wanted to care for him, a man who loved him, and a home. Sure, it still hurt knowing his blood family couldn’t be like this, never would be like this, and he missed some aspects of his old life but after everything he went though there wasn’t a doubt in Webster’s mind that his decision to come to PCU was the right one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go :')


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A happy ending and a new beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is, the last chapter. It's taken a lot of effort and time but it's finally here. 
> 
> It's hard to think that I started this fic over three years ago, back when I was still a high school and now I'm finally finishing just as I'm starting my senior year of college. In that time, I'm glad to say that I've grown stronger not only as a writer but as a person. 
> 
> This story has easily been the biggest project I've ever committed to and I'm so happy (and sad) to say that it's finally complete. I know that all of this would not have been possible if it weren't for all of you out there who stuck with me and supported me, even when I went months and months without updating. 
> 
> So from the bottom of my heart thank you, to those who've been here since the beginning, the people who joined me part way through, and even those people who'll come later and read this in the future. I truly hope you enjoyed the journey. I know I did.

* * *

“And that. Is. It,” Eugene declared quietly as he affixed a strip of duct tape to the last cardboard box in front of him.

 

Eugene sat back on his heels as he wiped some sweat from his brow and looked around at his bare dorm room. All of his possessions were either neatly packed away in one of his suitcases to be taken back to Mobile or were in a cardboard box, set to be taken to the storage unit he and Sidney had rented out for the summer. Sidney, who had headed down to the beach over an hour ago, still had a few odds and ends lying about his side of the room. Sure, Eugene could have headed down to the beach with his friend- they had enough time tomorrow before their flight in the evening for him to get everything squared away by then –but Eugene didn’t want to leave any lose ends. He wanted to be able to enjoy the party fully with nothing poking him uncomfortably in the back of his mind. It was the last party of the year and after Eugene spent the last major Hanks House party embarrassingly drunk and miserable, he knew he had to enjoy every last second of this one.

 

_Knock, knock, knock._

 

Eugene looked over his shoulder and found, to his pleasant surprise, Merriell leaning against the doorjamb with a hint of a smile on his face.

 

“Hey,” Merriell greeted him.

 

“What’re you doing here?” Eugene asked as he stood up. “I thought you headed down to the beach a while ago with everyone else.”

 

Eugene was sure he was the last person still working away in all of Hanks House by now. Some people had already been down at the beach for hours at this point, desperate to bring the long year to an exciting close as soon as possible.

 

“I did,” Merriell answered. “But I decided to come back for you.”

 

“How kind of you.”

 

“Party wasn’t that great anyways,” he said quietly with a shrug. “Not without you anyways.”

 

Smiling, Eugene reached out and gripped onto Merriell’s wrist, tugging him into the room. Merriell let himself be shuffled into the room and happily kissed Eugene when he brought his face closer to him. This time tomorrow the two of them would be on different planes headed to their homes with the entire state of Mississippi separating them. Eugene didn’t like to dwell on the thought, it hurt whenever he thought about it, but he knew he had to accept it.

 

_We’ll visit each other_ , Eugene told himself as he wrapped his arms around Merriell’s neck. _Call and text. Three months really isn’t that long…_

 

“Screw the party,” Merriell growled playfully against Eugene’s neck. “Let’s just stay here.”

 

“Settle down, Mer,” Eugene laughed as he placed a firm hand on his boyfriend’s chest and gave him a gentle shove away; although he was half tempted to take Merriell up on the offer, there were a few people Eugene wanted to see before everyone cleared out for the summer.

 

_You could always just make an appearance and come_ back, Eugene thought quietly while Shelton pouted.

 

“So…ready to go?” Merriell asked as he took hand that rested on his chest and twisted their fingers together.

 

“Yeah I think so,” Eugene decided.

 

Hand in hand, the two of them walked down the eerily silent fifth floor hall. It was so very different than the first time Eugene had walked down it last fall with people frantically running in and out of rooms as family members said goodbye and while roommates squabbled over decoration choices. Now there was just silence. Everyone’s possessions were packed away, and all signs that any of them had ever lived in the hall- the patch of carpet in Skip and Penk’s room that had been singed by a set of Chinese firecrackers during the heat of the prank war, the smoke alarm in Bill and Toye’s room that had been temporarily and illegally rigged so that they could smoke within the comfort of their room whenever, the multiple drink stains in the carpeting left behind by one too many late night drinking games that quickly turned sloppy, the door leading up to the roof that had been disconnected from the alarm since the first week of the semester –were scrubbed down, patched up, and covered up. A seemingly blank slate for a new round of students to make memories upon come next fall.

 

“You’re awful quiet,” Merriell pointed out as they began to head down the stairwell. “Should I be worried?”

 

“No,” Eugene answered with a smile and a shake of his head. “Just getting sentimental.”

 

“You definitely need a drink then,” he decided. “A strong one.”

 

“I’ll take a drink but maybe I should take it easy.”

 

“Why? You don’t have to be at the airport until late,” Merriell said as he pushed open the emergency exit and held the door open for Eugene. “You got plenty of time to get over a little hangover.”

 

“This is gonna be the last night that we’re all together, Mer, I kinda want to be able to remember it all.”

 

“Ya know there’s a difference between getting drunk and getting shitfaced,” he pointed out. “Not like you’d know the difference.”

 

Frowning, Eugene couldn’t help but remember the one time he had ever really gotten drunk and how that time he had very obviously gotten _way_ too drunk; he hated to admit it but Merriell did have a point. After a beat Eugene felt Merriell brush his thumb comfortingly across his pulse.

 

“Sorry,” Merriell apologized softly. “Didn’t mean to bring it up… And I’m sorry. I _was_ the reason you got shitfaced.”

 

“Hey,” Eugene said as he stopped in his tracks, their joint hands causing Merriell to stop as well. “None of that. I’m over it. We’ve moved past that shit haven’t we?”

 

“Still feel bad about it,” Merriell admitted. “Don’t know if I ever officially apologized for it.”

 

“Well now you have,” Eugene decided before he gave Merriell’s hand a firm squeeze. “So come on. No more sad, sorry shit okay? Tonight’s supposed to be able a good time, so let’s go and have one.”

 

Merriell nodded his head but when Eugene wasn’t quite convinced, Eugene leaned forward and pressed a reassuring kiss to Snafu’s cheek.

 

“Quit beating yourself up over that,” Eugene mumbled quietly into his ear. “It’s over with okay?”

 

Merriell turned and tilted his head just so before he kissed Eugene, soft and simple. When Merriell moved away, he gave Eugene a small smile, a subtle upturn of his lips, as he gripped Eugene’s hand tighter and gave it a small tug, urging him towards the party. Eugene happily complied.

 

“Maybe I’m the one who should go and get shitfaced tonight,” Merriell decided a little while later as they cut across the Quad. “Might be able to time it so that I’m still drunk for my flight home tomorrow.”

 

“With your luck I’m sure you’d just end up hungover as shit,” Eugene teased. “I doubt the Doc would be too happy about that.”

 

“Well maybe if I’m busy thinking about how my head feels like it’s being cleaved in two I won’t have time to think about how I’m in a tin can hurling through the sky, thousands of feet in the air.”

 

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, Mer.”

 

“Flying wouldn’t be so fucking bad if I had the chance to smoke before the flight or if they let me have a fucking drink,” Merriell continued to complain. “It’s bullshit.”

 

Before Eugene could respond, he was distracted by a distant squeal of delight; he could begin to hear the faint sounds of music drifted towards them from the beach. Eugene turned to Merriell and grinned before he tightened his grip on his hand and gave it a firm tug as he picked up his pace.

 

This year had been a long and confusing one, filled with many unexpected twists and turns, both good and bad. Half walking-half jogging down the trail that led to the beach, Eugene felt a mix of emotions. Of course he didn’t want the year to end- it had been a year unlike any other –but he knew deep in his heart that all good things needed to end. As Eugene stepped out onto the sandy strip of land and stared out at the party unfolding in front of him, he felt hopeful thinking about what his next few years at Pacific Coast University would bring him.

 

* * *

 

 

In the end, Ray took George’s advice about the party to heart; there weren’t any fog machines or bouncy castles but no one seemed to notice or care. People played beach volleyball or danced, no one was quiet drunk enough to dare plunge into the still chilly water yet. Two separate games of beer pong had broken out and even though it was still light out a bonfire already popped up on the outer edges near where George stood. Everywhere George looked he saw smiles, smiles he helped to create, and it made him feel warm. At least he was pretty sure it was the smiles making him feel that way and not the three shots of whatever Ray had made him, Skip, and Walt down an hour ago.

 

“Hey.”

 

George turned and found Lipton standing next to him, a red solo cup in each hand, while wearing that usual tired but happy smile on his face. Lip extended one of the cups to Luz which he gratefully accepted.

 

“Hey yourself,” Luz said before he reached out and slapped him playfully on his shoulder. “Glad you could make it out.”

 

“I couldn’t miss this,” Lip admitted as he looked around at the groups of college kids laughing and dancing and reveling in the beginnings of summer. “Why are you hanging out here by yourself? Kinda expected you to be down in the middle of the madness with Person, trying to convince someone to play chicken in the ocean.”

 

“Ah, I’m not quiet drunk enough for that yet, Lip,” Luz joked. “Gimme a while though and we’ll see.”

 

“Fair enough.”

 

“And you don’t have to worry about me, Lip,” George said, returning to Lip’s initial question while he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He offered one to Lip, who accepted it with a quiet thanks. “I’m just enjoying the view.”

 

“It’s a pretty good view,” Lip agreed as he looked around the beach, taking in all the smiling faces himself.

 

“Oh and congratulations,” Luz said as he stowed his smokes back into the safety of his jean pockets.

 

“For what?”

 

“Becoming R.A.,” George responded. “Thanks for telling me by the way. Had to hear the news from Jay instead of the man himself.”

 

“George, I’m sorry, I just found out the other day-”

 

Lipton stopped when Luz lifted a hand and smirked.

 

“I’m just busting your balls, Lip, it’s fine,” George said before he wrapped an arm around Carwood’s shoulders and have him a one armed hug. “Proud of you. Not surprised in the least though. School would have had to be an idiot for you to not get picked.”

 

“Thanks, George.”

 

“Do you know where you’re gonna be?”

 

“Hanks House again,” Lip answered, smiling.

 

“Well here’s hoping that you get to boss me around for a whole other year,” George said in toast as he raised his cup.

 

“I’m sure I’ll still be bossing you around regardless of where you end up.”

 

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, Lip,” George laughed as he gave Lipton a playful shove with his elbow.

 

“You know, somehow Harry managed to rope me into playing a round of beer pong against him later,” Lipton said casually after few moments of comfortable silence. “Gonna need a partner, if you’re interested.”

 

“How about you give me another minute or two,” Luz decided before he raised half smoked cigarette. “Gonna finish this and then I’ll head down. Sound good?”

 

“Alright,” Lip said with a nod before he began to walk away. “Just don’t take too long. Harry won’t be pleased.”

 

“Harry can kiss my ass,” Luz called after Lip; he could heard his friend laugh as he walked away.

 

Tonight would be his last night with this family until Fall came around again. This time tomorrow Luz would be headed to the other side of the country to spend his summer with an equally loud and crazy blood family. A part of George wished there was some way he could be around both of his families at the same time so that he’d never have to miss either half but another part of him, the slightly more ration side, realized that combining Ray Person with his hoard of younger siblings was probably a recipe for world destruction.

 

_Just gotta take advantage of them when you’re around them_ , Luz told himself before he drained his cup and set off in the same direction Lip had. _Time to create some memories to hold you over until August._

 

* * *

 

“Got it!” Leckie yelled in earnest as he dove into the sand, hands extended and shaped into a fist.

 

The tattered volleyball bounced successfully off of his fist and shot straight into the air. Chuckler easily spiked it across the net, sending it crashing into the sand quicker than anyone on the other team could move.

 

“Fuck yeah!” Chuckler cheered as he punched the air in victory.

 

Leckie pushed himself off of the ground before he pulled an only slightly reluctant Hoosier into a headlock and messed up his slightly curly sandy blond locks. Bob laughed while Hoosier mumbled half-hearted obscenities into his armpit and as Chuckler threw Runner over his shoulder with ease.

 

“Alright, alright, that’s fuckin’ enough,” Hoosier growled before he pushed out of the headlock and gave Leckie a good, hard shove as payback.

 

“Who dares to go against the fantastic four?” Runner shouted to the surrounding crowd from atop Chucklers sturdy shoulders.

 

“They’re all scared,” Chuckler declared proudly. “And rightfully so!”

 

“I’m gonna need another drink or two,” Hoosier sighed as he dusted some sand off of his knees. “Gotta get on their level. You in?”

 

“Sure,” Leckie agreed before he called out to Runner and Chuckler, who were still too busy entertaining the crowd with their shtick. “Hey Heckle and Jeckle, me and Hoos are grabbing a drink alright? Take five.”

 

“Got any plans for the summer?” Leckie asked Hoosier as he pulled two beers from the cooler and handed one to his friend.

 

“Besides trying to survive in butt-fuck nowhere Indiana for three months? Not a clue. Why?”

 

“Well, maybe you could head on over to Jersey for a bit,” Leckie suggested, the idea coming to him suddenly.

 

“I dunno. I’ve seen the show _Jersey Shore_ , Leck, and I gotta admit, I’m a little terrified. Now I understand why you wanted to escape that shit so badly.”

 

“It’s not that bad- we don’t have to go to the Shore, Bill,” Leckie decided with a sigh. “We could go to New York City, get your corn-fed ass some culture.”

 

“Could use some culture beyond NASCAR and basketball,” Hoosier said into his beer. “Might as well drag the other two along,” he said as he gestured with his can to Chuckler and Runner, who were now playing a game of chicken over the sand against Malarkey and Compton. “Sure they could do with some Leckie NYC culture lessons.”

 

“Don’t see how we could break up the team this late into the game,” Leckie said.

 

“There gonna be room on this magical adventure into the big city for five? Or is Vera not gonna want in on this event?”

 

“What am I not going to want in on?” Vera asked as she appeared behind Leckie, a curious smile on her face.

 

“We’re just talking about maybe Bill and Chuckler and Runner visiting,” Leckie answered. “Figured it’d be a good idea to take them into the city to get some culture. Hoosier here wasn’t sure if you could stomach our antics for a whole day if you tagged along.”

 

“Well if I couldn’t take it I _do_ know the city well enough that I’m sure I could find an escape route somewhere,” Vera mused before she turned to look at Bill. “Unless Bill doesn’t want me to come along and cramp his style, cut into his personal time with Bob.”

 

“No, ma’am, we’re both adults here, I think we can find a way to share,” Hoosier drawled, face serious.

 

“Well then Bob can take you to all the normal touristy stuff and then later when you’ll want to crash- because I know you’re not gonna wanna be out past nine – we can trade and Bob can take me out to a show. Sound good to you?” Vera said before she raised her drink towards Hoosier.

 

“Sounds perfect,” Hoosier agreed before he tapped his can against Vera’s plastic cup. “Ya know it’s a good thing I like you so much. I’m not usually too fond of sharing.”

 

“I’m honored,” Vera smiled.

 

“Do I get any input into this daytrip?” Leckie asked and looked from his best friend to his girlfriend.

 

“No,” Hoosier and Vera responded in unison.

 

“Vera, I think you need to spend a little less time with Hoosier, he’s starting to rub off on you,” Leckie sighed as he gently grabbed Vera’s hand and pulled her towards the impromptu dance area.

 

“So what do you think?” Vera asked him a song later. “About the trip?”

 

“Hmm, me spending the morning and afternoon dragging those three idiots through Manhattan and trying to keep them from killing each other or from getting thrown out of places and then meeting up with you for some show while the kiddies get lost downtown,” Leckie mused as he spun Vera lazily around the beach. “Actually sounds pretty entertaining. As long as I don’t have to pay their bail.”

 

“Runner’s from Buffalo, he’s been to the city before hasn’t he?” Vera asked. “I’m sure he could reign them in a little.”

 

“Oh no, Runner seems like a decent guy but I secretly think he’s the most evil of the bunch,” Leckie said seriously. “He’d probably end up leading Chuckler and Hoos in the wrong direction for shits and giggles.”

 

“Could be worse still, I’m sure,” Vera sighed.

 

“Oh things could always be so much worse,” Bob said confidentially.

 

“How so?” Vera asked as Leckie paused her in the middle of her movements and looked her straight in the eyes with his somewhat startling intensity. “Bob?”

 

“How could things be worse?” Bob asked quietly. “I could be without you.”

 

Leckie watched as Vera froze for a moment before she melted, warm and gentle into his arms. Bob tightened his grip on her as he rested his head on top of her sleek, dark locks.

 

“Hope you can manage a thirty minute distance,” Vera said into his chest. “Don’t think my mom or dad would be too fond of you camping out at my place.”

 

“I guess I could learn to live with that stipulation,” Leckie sighed as he let Vera go and returned to their easy dancing.

 

Life would never be perfect or easy; Bob had learned that lesson years ago. Right here and now though, with Vera in his arms and with his idiotic but loyal as hell friends nearby, well, he thought that this was probably as close to perfect as Bob could get right now. He was happy to take every last minute of it.

 

* * *

 

“And boom goes the dynamite!” Luz shouted in victory as he sunk his ping-pong ball into Ron’s last cup of beer. “Time to drink up bitch!”

 

Lipton was sure that there were approximately three people on the entire planet who had the gall to call Ron Speirs a bitch to his face. Luz was clearly one of them, one of the others was Ron’s current pong teammate, Harry, and the last was Nixon, who wondered off a little while ago with a drink in one hand and Dick’s hand in the other.

 

Carwood watched as Ron chugged the last beer before he crushed the plastic cup in his fist and let it drop to the sandy ground.

 

“’nother round,” Ron ordered, somehow managing to sound commanding while slurring.

 

“Hell yeah,” Harry cheered as he clapped Ron proudly on the back. “That’s what I like to hear!”

 

“Reset,” George said as he began placing the cups back into position.

 

“Uh, I think maybe Ron should sit out this next one,” Carwood said gently as he looked across the white plastic table at his boyfriend who, after managing to lose two rounds against he and George, was looking a little worse for wear; despite all preconceived notions, Ron was something of a lightweight and Lipton knew if he went this next round, he’d probably end up out for the rest of the entire night.

 

“He’s fine!” Harry declared, voice slurring some as well; Harry was definitely a stronger drinker than Ron but after starting the game nearing drunk and being a far less superior pong player than George, he was starting to stumble a bit as well.

 

“’m fine, Car,” Ron declared, full of drunk determination. “Got ‘em on the ropes.”

 

“I’m sorry to break it to you but, no, you don’t,” Lipton said gently as he walked around the table and gently began pulling Ron away from the game. “Let’s go sit down for a bit, maybe get you some water.”

 

“What the hell’re we supposed to do now?” Harry called after him as Ron half collapsed on top of Lipton.

 

“It’s fine, we’ll play one on one,” Luz said easily. “Come on, rack ‘em up, Harry. I can’t wait around all day.”

 

Thankful for Luz’s distraction, Lipton led Ron slowly away from the scene until they reached a quieter part of the beach. Ron fell ungracefully to the ground like a sack of potatoes; Carwood couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“What’re you laughing at?” Ron pouted as Carwood sat down next to him in the sand.

 

“You,” he answered honestly.

 

“Didn’t know you were so good at beer pong,” Ron murmured into Lipton’s shoulder as he rested his head there.

 

“I didn’t know either,” Carwood responded quietly. “Only played once or twice before.”

 

“What else don’t I know about you?” Ron asked quietly.

 

“Not much,” he answered honestly. “I try to tell you everything, Ron, you know that.”

 

Ron didn’t verbally respond, just nodded his head loosely from where it rested on Carwood’s shoulder. After a long moment of silence, Lipton was sure that Ron had fallen asleep. Shaking his head at his somewhat ridiculous boyfriend, Lipton watched Harry and George duke it out from a distance for a while before he turned his attention on the sunset. Carwood always thought the sun rising in the middle of the fields that surrounded his home back in Huntington were beautiful but tonight, this sunset was giving all of those other sunrises a run for their money.

 

“Come visit me,” Ron mumbled against Lipton’s shoulder, surprising Carwood.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Visit me. At my mom’s place. Over the summer,” he said slowly before he opened one of his green eyes and stared up at Lipton. “’feel like I got to know you so much better just by being with you at your home…I want you to know me that well…”

 

“Of course,” Carwood insisted instantly. “I’d love to come visit.”

 

“Meet my mom,” Ron mumbled as he nuzzled Carwood’s neck sleepily. “She’d like you.”

 

“I hope so,” he said with a small laugh.

 

“She would. Who wouldn’t like you?”

 

“Don’t sell yourself too short, Ron, plenty of people like you too,” Carwood pointed out. “My mom called the other day asking if you’d be around over the summer. Think she misses your work ethic.”

 

“I’d be happy to come and help out again,” Ron said as he lifted his head off of Lipton’s shoulder and looked at him with two tired green eyes. “I’d probably work there all summer if your mom’d let me.”

 

“You don’t mean that, really.”

 

“I do,” Ron said, eyes still a little glazed over but his voice firm. “Your home… I like it. Your family… it’s what a family should be like. Wanna be around that more.”

 

“Well I doubt my mom would be too upset if you volunteer to help out for a while over the summer,” Carwood conceded, feeling pleasantly warm.

 

“Good,” Ron murmured before he pressed a tired, sloppy kiss against Carwood’s jawline.

 

“Maybe I should get you back to the dorm,” Carwood offered.

 

“’m fine,” Ron insisted, eyes firmly shut. “Just give me ten minutes. I’ll be good as new. Promise.”

 

While he wasn’t sure if Ron would be better in that short time span, Carwood didn’t mind waiting to find out. He was perfectly comfortable spending his last night of the school year sitting on the beach with Ron at his side while his friends laughed and danced and let off a year’s worth of steam in front of him.

 

He really did need to find a proper way to thank his mother for forcing him to leave the nest. Carwood wasn’t sure what would have happened to him if he had stayed in Huntington for school but he was sure it wouldn’t come anywhere close to what he got out of single year at  PCU.

 

* * *

 

“We’re leaving bright and fuckin’ early tomorrow, okay, Web?” Joe shouted over the roar of the music and the voices before he took a long drink from his plastic cup. “We got a long drive tomorrow and I wanna be back home for dinner!”

 

“I’ll be up and ready, Joe,” Web said for what had to be the tenth time today. David watched Joe take another drink out of his cup before he spoke again. “You know, with the rate that you’re drinking at, I’d be more concerned that you’re not gonna be up and ready to go first thing in the morning.”

 

“Have a little more faith in me, Web. I know my limits, I’m fine.”

 

“Yeah I mean, Joe once stayed up until four with us playing that stupid fucking Marvel drinking game and still managed to make it to his nine o’clock class the next day,” Skip pointed out proudly. “I don’t think I managed to make it to any of my classes that day. Joe might be a skinny motherfucker but he sure can put them away.”

 

“Remember when he and Bull went head to head with bottles of that shitty vodka and they both almost died,” Alex remembered with a smile. “Good times.”

 

“Where the fuck was I when all this was going on?” David asked.

 

“Probably in bed and asleep like a good little boy, school night and all,” Joe answered. When Webster made a face, Joe quickly added, “Not that that’s a bad thing, Web. Working hard during the week and partying harder on the weekend is the smart way to do it.”

 

“Nice save,” Skip commented with a snort.

 

“Hey you motherfuckers standing around!” Ray Person’s voice rang from behind them. Turning around David watched as Ray ran towards them, ridiculous sunglasses on even though the setting sun made them pointless. “Some of us are putting together a baseball game down on the other side of the beach and we need more bodies! _Let’s go!”_

 

“Aww hell yeah,” Skip declared before he picked up his pace and ran towards Ray with Alex following right behind him.

 

“You guys in or what?” Ray asked David and Joe.

 

“Come on, Joe,” David said as he gripped Joe’s hand and gave it a little tug. “Mr. High school baseball star, I’m sure you could wipe the floor with all of them without trying.”

 

“Maybe it’s a good thing I’ve had a few already, gives them a fighting chance,” Joe smirked before he let David pull him towards the other end of the beach.

 

* * *

 

“Come on, Webster! You’re making the fifth floor look bad!” Nixon yelled from where he sat slightly away from the makeshift baseball field.

 

He and Dick had been trying to spend some quiet time away from all the madness when the madness finally caught up with them about twenty minutes ago. Lewis couldn’t help but be at least a little impressed with out quickly a cluster of slightly drunk college kids managed to put together a baseball diamond and two teams with nothing more than some pieces of driftwood for bases and a little drunk determination.

 

“Maybe we should form an intermural baseball team next year,” Dick said quietly while Nixon whistled obnoxiously as Babe slid into home, scoring a run.

 

“What was that?” Lew asked as he turned to look at Dick.

 

“Just a thought but what if we organized an intermural baseball team next year,” Dick suggested. “Could be a good way for all of us to get a chance to hang out together, once we’re all split up and moved around.”

 

“Yeah, I like that,” Lewis said with a smile. “Why don’t you bring it up to Lip whenever he reappears? I’m sure he’d be happy to help spread the word around. And hell, maybe if the boys get a chance to go out and run off some of their energy they’ll be too tired to do a repeat of this year. I mean, what would the university think if the same group of guys ended up wearing out _two_ R.A’s in a row?”

 

“They’re good guys, Nix.”

 

“Doesn’t mean they aren’t pain in the asses sometimes,” Lew said before he took a sip from his cup. “But I mean, what parent doesn’t get a little annoyed by their rugrats on occasion?”

 

Dick didn’t bother to respond, just rolled his eyes while he focused on the game in front of them. Lewis grinned as he bumped his shoulder playfully against Dick’s. Dick always got exasperated when he compared the guys to being Dick’s children but he never once refuted the claim so Nix considered it a win.

 

“You know, my mom’s still not too pleased about this whole driving across the country thing,” Dick spoke up a few moments later as he watched Joe successfully tag Walt before he could reach second base.

 

“Did you tell her that driving from here to Lancaster is probably cheaper than flying?” Nixon reminded Dick. “That ought to help her come over to my side.”

 

It was about a week ago when Nixon realized that he still had his car here at Pacific Coast from when he drove it across country before the beginning of the year. He had two options: find a long-term car lot to park it at for the summer and borrow one of his mom’s car to get around for the summer or reverse the same journey he took to get here and drive all the way back to Jersey. After a little coercion, Lewis managed to convince Dick to not buy a plane ticket home and instead drive back with him.

 

“She’s just worried about all that could happen. It’s a long stretch.”

 

“I’ve done it before and I got here just fine,” Lew said before his voice rose suddenly, still focusing intently on the game in front of him. “Way to show them, Babe!”

 

“Your car could break down in the middle of nowhere,” Dick pointed out. “I mean, it has before.”

 

“Yeah but the last time it did, it turned out pretty good,” Lew said, smiling. “Met a nice guy.”

 

“Better not happen the same way again,” Dick warned quietly. “I’m not that good about sharing.”

 

“Don’t worry, Dick, I wouldn’t even think about it,” he said as he reached out and gripped one of Dick’s hands.

 

Lew glanced at Dick out of the corner of his eye and watched him for a moment, noticing something odd in his warm brown eyes. The last two days, Dick had bringing up his mother’s hesitation more and more. Maybe it wasn’t really his mother who was hesitant.

 

“Hey,” Lew said quietly, leaning a little closer to Dick so that he didn’t have to raise his voice as much over the noise of the game. “If you really don’t want to drive with me, it’s fine. I understand, it is gonna be a long trip. I just thought it might be fun-”

 

“Lewis, it’s not that,” Dick said firmly with shake of his head. “I want to go with you. I _am_ going to go with you. I’m not worried about that at all.”

 

“Then what is it?”

 

In answer Dick returned his attention to the game in front of him.

 

“You regretting not returning to your R.A. post next year?” Lewis tried.

 

“I don’t think so,” Dick answered, eyes still set on the game. “I think I made the right decision to leave but…”

 

“Still gonna miss the rugrats,” Lewis finished with a small grin. 

 

“Yeah,” Dick answered honestly.

 

“Well… another reason to have the baseball team next year,” Lewis pointed out. “Get a chance to see the kids a lot more. And it’s a small campus, Dick, you’re gonna run into them all the time. They’re probably crash our house so much it’ll feel like none of us ever fucking left Hanks House.”

 

“Who’s crashing our house?” Harry asked as he toddled towards them, tugging Kitty along behind him, who looked only slightly embarrassed by her intoxicated boyfriend.

 

“Probably everyone from the fifth floor,” Lewis answered. “Dick’s having separation anxiety-”

 

“Lew.”

 

“-so we better prepare for a couple group sleepovers.”

 

“Better invest in some inflatable mattresses,” Kitty suggested.

 

“If all of them are gonna be crashing over all the time we better be getting some cut of the rent from them,” Harry advised. “We ain’t gonna be running a homeless shelter.”

 

“Harry, I doubt that there are gonna be people crashing there every night,” Dick said patiently.

 

“Yeah, sure they’ll miss Dick for a bit but I’m sure within a week or two everyone in the fucking dorm is gonna fall in love with Lip and they won’t want to leave,” Nixon pointed out.

 

“Who’s falling in love with me?”

 

Lewis turned around and watched as Lipton and Ron walked towards them with one of Lipton’s arms wrapped around Ron’s waist; it seemed like it was done more so to keep Ron upright than a sign of affection.

 

“Woah! Look who’s awake!” Harry exclaimed as he looked at Ron. “Way to rally, ya lightweight!”

 

“What’s wrong with being a lightweight?” Kitty asked. “When we’re all old enough to go out to the bars, Ron’s gonna spend like ten bucks to get trashed while you’re gonna end up owing the bar your rent check.”

 

“Who’s falling in love with me?” Lipton repeated before Harry could respond.

 

“All of your new residents next year once they get a load of you,” Nixon answered with a cocky grin.

 

Lipton rolled his eyes and Ron’s face darkened.

 

“Don’t worry, Ron, I’m sure within the week everyone will know your scary mug and no one will dare try anything,” Lew said with a wave of his hand.

 

_As if Lip would leave Ron for some Dorito-fingered freshman anyways._

 

“Then they’ll all just admire him from afar,” Harry added dramatically, earning eye rolls from Lip, Dick, and Kitty.

 

“You guys are ridiculous,” Lipton sighed.

 

“Ridiculous, yes. True? Also yes,” Nixon said confidentially, causing some of his friends to laugh.

 

As his friends change the subject of their conversation to something different- the baseball game, their trips home, summer plans –Lewis couldn’t help but think about how lucky he had been this past year. He had chosen Pacific Coast on a whim: it was a school on the opposite side of the country, almost as far away from his father as he could manage, and his credits from Yale transferred with little difficulty. Now Lewis was not a man of faith and usually considered fate a load of shit but sitting there on the warm sandy beach, surrounded by friends and the man of his dreams, he began to considered that maybe something- luck, fate, divine intervention –had a hand in bringing him here.

 

* * *

 

Babe was torn.

 

He wanted to go home.

 

He missed Philly terribly, missed walking the streets he knew he could navigate drunk and blindfolded, missed his Ma, even missed his obnoxious younger siblings. He missed the simple things like sneaking cigarettes from Bill’s older siblings and smoking them covertly on Babe’s fire escape, fighting for shotgun in Ralph’s rusted out car every day after high school, getting way too drunk off of only a handful of beers at a classmates party and drunkenly calling one of Bill or Babe’s older siblings to pick them up, missed lying in Julian’s room on Friday nights, eating way too much shitty pizza and staring up at the ceiling, wondering what the hell was gonna happen to him after high school.

 

It had only been a year since he graduated high school but already so much had happened, both good and bad. Sure, the past year had given Babe the biggest loses he’d ever experienced in his short life, first in Henry and then way too soon after in Julian, but he had also gained so much within a year.

 

“Babe,” Gene’s warm, quiet voice said.

 

Babe blinked, looked down, and found Gene’s hand carefully holding onto his own, guiding him back to the present. The baseball game had eventually dispersed once the lighting got so low it became dangerous to be throwing baseballs at people but Babe and Gene had decided to stay sitting in the currently deserted area, content with spending their limited time together quietly.

 

“I’m okay,” Babe said before the other man could ask. He gave Gene’s boney hand a quick squeeze in reassurance as he smiled at him. “Promise.”

 

He wanted to stay. As much as he missed Philly, Babe knew the second they touched down tomorrow night, he would start to miss PCU just as much. He’d miss getting to wake up every morning with Gene curled up against him, both of them struggling to fit on the tiny dorm bed, he’d miss walking up and down the fifth floor and being constantly surrounded by some of the best guys he had ever met.

 

Babe loved his school, love the people who went there even more, and he was happy he dared to challenge himself and head off to the other side of the country but sitting here with his thoughts, Babe couldn’t help but think about what if’s. What if he didn’t come here? Sure, he would have never met Gene and the idea of that was painful but if he had never decide to come here, dragging his friends along in the process…

 

_I’d still have Julian._

 

“You know you can talk to me if you have something on your mind,” Gene said quietly as he gently bumped his shoulder against Babe’s. “Not good to keep it all bottled up.”

 

“I know,” Babe sighed before he gripped tightly onto Gene’s hand as if it were a lifeline. “It’s just… I’ve been thinking about the past year a lot. I’m glad I came here,” Babe turned and smiled softly at Gene, “so glad.”

 

“Feeling’s mutual,” Gene responded.

 

“But at the same time…I wish I never came here,” Babe admitted quietly.

 

“Babe…”

 

“I mean, if I hadn’t come here I would have never met you but if I never came here, my friends wouldn’t have come too-”

 

“Babe,” Gene said firmly, cutting Babe off midsentence. “It’s not your fault.”

 

At those four words Babe felt himself deflate. All the words he had built up inside of him disappeared and he was left feeling empty and tired. Babe let his head drop so that he was staring at the dark sand instead of Gene’s kind blue eyes.

 

“Julian’s death is in no way your fault, Babe,” Gene continued in the same firm tone. “I know it doesn’t feel like that sometimes but it’s true. The only one who’s at fault for his death is that madman with a gun.”

 

Babe nodded his head slightly. Gene and Bill had told him this probably a hundred times before but the message still never really completely convinced Babe that if it hadn’t been for his desire to branch out and start somewhere new Julian would probably still be with him, with his family, living his life like he should have been able to do.

 

Babe felt Gene’s cold fingers brush under his chin, gently nudging his head up so that he was looking back at Gene. He saw Gene’s eyes soften and knew that even in the dim light he could see the tears that Babe felt forming in his eyes. He was so fucking sick of crying.

 

“Julian wouldn’t think that this was your fault, Babe,” Gene pointed out softly. “Not for a second. So you shouldn’t either.”

 

Babe felt a tear escape and roll down his cheek. Before he could brush it away, Gene’s hand was there to kindly wipe it away.

 

“All I ask is that I manage to go a whole fucking week without crying,” Babe huffed in frustration as he rubbed at his red eyes. “Is that so fucking hard?”

 

Babe needed another minute to collect himself but when he moved his hands away he found Gene still sitting there, patiently waiting for him as always.

 

Maybe this past year hadn’t been the best for him. It had been a year of extreme highs and lows and in the end, Babe got his wish from before he left Philly back in August: he was a different version of Babe now, even though it happened in ways Babe had never expected. It was a year he’d never forget, for the good and for the bad. But that was life wasn’t it? It could never be all good or bad and you sure as shit wouldn’t be able to predict what the hell was gonna happen. Babe had to accept that.

 

“Okay, no more crying,” Babe said quietly to himself before he rubbed his eyes one last time in an attempt to get rid of any residual tears. Still feeling a little emotionally raw, Babe turned to look at Gene and forced a smile to his face. “Tonight’s the last night we’ve got together for a while and I don’t know about you, but I’d rather we didn’t spend it with me crying.” Babe checked the time on his phone quickly; it was just a little past nine now. “We’ve got plenty of time left. Let’s go make the most of the night.”

 

“’scuse me! Am I interrupting?” Bill’s voice sounded from behind Babe.

 

“Wouldn’t fucking stop you if you were, asshole,” Babe called out before he looked over his shoulder and watched as Spina and Bill walked towards them.

 

Bill plopped down next to Babe and pulled him into a halfhearted headlock which Babe barely had to fight to break out of at all.

 

“How’re things, Doc?” Spina asked as he sat down next to Gene while the other two wrestled lightly next to them. “Got your shit all squared away for tomorrow.”

 

“Hope so,” Gene answered while he watched Bill and Babe wrestle with a soft smile.

 

“Damn, Bill,” Babe hissed as he rotated his shoulder to get proper feeling back into it. “Can’t wait until we’re back home and you can channel all this touchy-feely energy into Frannie.”

 

“Uh, I hope that’s not how you treat your girlfriend, Bill,” Gene said, slightly concerned.

 

“Frannie would absolutely destroy him if he tried anything like that on her,” Ralph declared flatly, causing Babe to laugh. “Wouldn’t even be a competition.”

 

“What the fuck ever,” Bill muttered with a roll of his eyes before he turned his attention on Babe and Gene. “Speaking of couples reuniting, you two made plans to visit each other yet? Because I gotta say, I don’t think I’m gonna be able to fucking make it through summer if you don’t. Can already picture Babe moping all day-”

 

“It’s the least you owe me after I had to deal with you moping over missing Frannie for an entire year,” Babe interrupted.

 

“Yeah, a years a different thing than a few months during summer-”

 

“Bill, you are such full of shit,” Ralph declared easily. “Joe fucking told me you Skyped Frannie almost every day the first month of class and caught you two facetiming at least once a week for the rest of the year. You ain’t got much room to talk.”

 

“Fuck you, Spina, what’d you know about relationships?”

 

While Bill and Ralph squabbled, Babe looked at Gene and was surprised to find a mischievous glint in his eyes. It only took Babe a moment or two to put the pieces together before he grinned evilly and turned to look at Spina while Bill was distracted as he went on and on about something else entirely now. Spina caught on quickly and nodded.

 

“Go!” Babe shouted gleefully as he reached forwards and pushed Bill’s shoulders flat onto the sand with all of his strength while Gene and Spina worked to push and toss as much sand as possible onto Bill.

 

“Ah! Pfff- Babe! What the fuck?” Bill cursed as he fought against Babe’s grip.

 

“It’s payback for doing this to me, asshole!” Babe exclaimed, grinning ear to ear while he tried not to get sand in his eyes. “It’s what you deserve.”

 

“You’re the fucking worst, Babe,” Bill growled while Babe, Spina, and even Gene laughed loudly. “Fuckin’ hate all of you.”

 

“We love you too, Bill,” Ralph said as he worked two large mounds of sand roughly over Bill’s chest.

 

“What the fuck are you doing now?” Bill gripped as he continued to struggle some.

 

“Making you into a sexy mermaid,” Ralph answered. “Just go with it. We’ll make you look better than ever before.”

 

“Just make sure I’m not fucking lopsided,” Bill growled. “And someone give me a damn light while I’m stuck down here for Christ’s sake.”

 

* * *

 

Skip looked around at the beach filled with friends and classmates and couldn’t help but smile. Sure, he had been counting down the minutes until he could see Faye again for the past week but standing there, drink in hand, while he watched a group of friends try to roast marshmallows, he knew that if he couldn’t be with Faye right now, this was a pretty good place to be instead.

 

“How long does it take to set up some fireworks,” Alex asked, standing next to him.

 

Skip turned to look at what Alex was looking at and watched as Ray fiddled with an intricate looking fireworks display made out of PVC pipe. Walt and Skinny were crouched down on either side of Ray, but Skip had a feeling that they were there mostly in case Ray hurt himself in the process and needed immediate assistance.

 

“This is an art, my friend, and it takes fucking time, alright?” Ray said while he continued to focus on his masterpiece. “This is like my fucking Mona Lisa alright? Can’t rush this shit.”

 

“Excuses, excuses,” Skip teased.

 

“Man, when have I ever _not_ preformed okay?” Ray continued. “Fucking Viagra wishes it preformed like I do- not that I would know how Viagra acts, I’d never need that shit.”

 

“Why would you ever need that shit anyways?” Brad asked from where he sat on a log a few feet away, most likely also acting as some sort of precautionary measure in case Ray fucked up and went sky high. “Not like you’d ever have to _perform_ for anyone.”

 

As everyone quickly dissolved into laughter over Brad and Ray’s bickering, Skip was distracted by the sight of someone walking just behind Ray and Brad. It was Lip.

 

While Lipton hadn’t announced anything, Skip was sure that every resident of Hanks House knew that Lipton had been selected as an R.A. and that he would be one of the people in charge of running Hanks House for the next school year. Skip wasn’t surprised that Lipton had only told the news to a few people personally; the guy was humble and didn’t need or want the attention. Lip might have wanted to keep things quiet but in Skip’s opinion, it was news that deserved to be shared and celebrated. The guys were proud of Lip and everyone Skip talked to about the news only said promising things about the guy. Everyone was sure Lipton would kill this R.A. gig next year and he deserved to know that everyone from the fifth floor had his back.

 

“What are you planning?” Alex asked flatly as he looked at the grin forming on Skip’s face, clearly not sure if he should be worried or not by his friend’s expression.

 

“Only good things, Penk, don’t you worry,” Skip reassured him as he clapped his friend on the shoulder before he quickly ran in Lipton’s direction.

 

“Skip? What’re you-?” Lip exclaimed as Skip caught up to him and wrapped a tight arm around his shoulders, forcing him to a sudden stop.

 

“Attention everyone!” Skip yelled out as he turned the both of them so that they faced the majority of the crowd. “Can I just get your attention for a brief moment?”

 

“Skip,” Lipton grumbled, clearly a little flustered and confused by sudden attention.

 

“Just go with it, Lip,” Skip said quietly for just Lipton to hear while most of the crowd stopped and turned to look at the duo. “This here is Carwood Lipton!”

 

“We fucking know who he is, Skip!” Malarkey called out. “How drunk are you right now?”

 

“What is this a date auction?” Ray piped up.

 

“Got some news for you, Skip. Unfortunately Lip’s already taken,” Luz called out from somewhere in the crowd.

 

“It’s none of that, assholes,” Skip yelled back, grin still wide on his face. “This is Carwood Lipton and he’s gonna be Hanks Houses new R.A.!” Skip exclaimed. “Let’s give it up for Lip!”

 

Skip shook Lipton’s shoulders while everyone else cheered and whistled. Lipton ducked his head a bit at the attention but Skip was glad to see that he was smiling, even if it was done slightly out of embarrassment.

 

“Sorry, Lip, couldn’t resist,” Skip said as he leaned in closer to Lip so that he could be heard over the roar of the noise. “You deserve a little spotlight.”

 

“Thanks, Skip,” Lipton huffed, resigned to accept the love and attention.

 

“Promise to go easy on you next year,” Skip said as he gave Lipton’s shoulders one last squeeze before he walked away from the man, feeling particularly pleased with himself.

 

* * *

 

People watching had always been something that entertained Merriell. As a child he’d spend his days at the neighborhood park, watching mothers and fathers push their children on swings and chase them around the playground and wonder what that kind of life must have felt like. During class whenever he eventually stopped paying attention, Shelton’s mind would wander off while he watched some burnt out kid in one of his classes nervously chew through a pencil and he’d spend the rest of the class wondering how the fuck someone could be so stressed out over Intro to Comp. But now, sitting quietly on the beach, watching many college students run and dance and laugh and scream, Merriell didn’t have to guess what was going on in people’s minds because somehow along the way, Merriell managed to get to know many of these people. Never in his dreams would he have ever thought that he would know so many people so intimately and would call many of them a friend.

 

It really was strange, how much could happen in a year.

 

A year ago, Merriell had next to nothing. He had a storage room converted into a makeshift studio apartment, a high school diploma, and Gene Roe’s best intentions. Now? Now Merriell had a school that felt like home, an actual bedroom in a real house, he had friends like Burgie.

 

“Mind if I join you?”

 

Merriell blinked and looked up and found Eugene smiling down at him, a drink in each hand.

 

“Only if one of those drinks is for me.”

 

He had Eugene.

 

“I guess that could be arranged,” Eugene teased before he sat down on the sand next to him, smiling softly as he handed him his cup.

 

He had Eugene and honestly Merriell still wasn’t quite sure how the hell he managed that but he wasn’t going to question it, wasn’t going to risk poking holes in a good thing. The best thing that had ever happened to him.

 

“When do you think the fireworks will get going?” Eugene asked as he stared up at the dark night sky, which was empty of colorful fireworks but was filled with plenty of softly twinkling stars.

 

“Dunno,” Merriell answered as he turned to look at where Ray was still fiddling with his rig a little further down the beach.

 

The party had wound down a little since it started. The music was softer, movements a little slower now that the alcohol had some time to get into people’s systems, and everything was lit now by the soft glow of bonfires and the moon. A lot of the students had early flights out the next day or had plans to pack their various vehicles and hit the road as soon as possible before traffic could set in so not many people were that set on raging all night long like usual. Instead, people seemed perfectly happy to relax on the beach and laugh and talk with their friends before everyone parted ways for the summer.

 

_Won’t be apart for the whole summer,_ Shelton thought as he glanced at Eugene, who was still staring at the stars contently.

 

Merriell was a stubborn ass whole never liked to admit that he was afraid but damn he’d be lying through his teeth if he said he wasn’t scared of meeting Eugene’s family. Usually he wouldn’t give a shit what a couple middle aged, upper class people thought about him but this was different. Even though Eugene insisted that it didn’t matter if his parents hated him, Merriell knew that he couldn’t just show up and give his usual I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude to these people. He’d have to at least try. For Eugene.

 

“Just so you know, when I come visit, I ain’t gonna be flying in,” Merriell declared as casually as he could manage. “Gonna have fucking enough to deal with, don’t need to tac on hurtling through the sky in a tin can on top of it.”

 

“As long as you get there, I don’t care how you do it,” Eugene said quietly as he turned to look at Merriell.

 

“I’ll be there,” Merriell promised softly as he met Eugene’s gaze. “Promise.”

 

Merriell leaned forward and kissed Eugene. A moment later, an explosion sounded nearby, causing Merriell to jump involuntarily and knock his face accidentally against Eugene’s. When he pulled away to look at the commotion, Merriell watched as Ray’s rig went off smoothly, sending beautiful firework after firework into the dark night sky.

 

Sitting on the beach, side-by-side with Eugene, watching the fireworks, it wasn’t so much a ‘what do you do now’ moment as a ‘wonder what the fuck’s going to happen next’ moment. Merriell knew what he was going to do. He was gonna fly back to Louisiana with Gene tomorrow, spend the summer crashing at Gene’s grandma’s place, and drive to Mobile at some point to get properly interrogated by Eugene’s mama before he got back on another fucking plane that would take him back here in August so that he could try and make it through another couple years at PCU. He knew what he was going to do but everything that would happen between those points, Merriell wasn’t so sure about that. Frankly, Merriell didn’t really give a shit about what happened during all those in-between points as long as he had Eugene, either at his side or just a phone call or text away.

 

Merriell started slightly when he felt a weight rest on his shoulder. He glanced down and smiled when he found Eugene’s head resting there, eyes still focused on the colorful sky above.

 

“Love you,” Eugene muttered softly, those two words still so new that they made Shelton feel like he had missed a step going down the stairs.

 

“Love you too,” he responded quietly before he pressed a soft kiss to the crown of Eugene’s head.

 

It was pretty strange to think about how unbelievably perfect his life was right now, even by regular people standards. Nine months ago his life had been crawling through windows at four in the morning so that he could crash in his makeshift storage room of a bedroom. Now it was this, sitting content on a beach at night with the man he loved and who loved him back, surrounded by friends who actually liked him. Sure, maybe in the far back corner of his mind, Merriell would always have a hint of paranoia, waiting for the other shoe to drop and end it all but maybe one day he’d be able to wake up without that thought scratching at the back of his brain. Maybe one day in the future he’d be able to wake up and not have any of those nasty, fucked up thoughts and insecurities eating away at him. He didn’t know for sure and, again, he didn’t really fucking care. After spending almost two decades rolling with every last punch life had to offer him, Merriell was sure he’d be able to handle whatever came his way next.

 

* * *

 

“We better still be on for 4th of July, Buck, or I’m gonna come down to L.A. and beat your blond ass,” Malarkey declared as he hiked his last bag over his shoulder.

 

“Like you could even make a mark on me,” Buck scoffed before he pulled Malarkey into a tight bear hug.

 

“Gotta go,” Malarkey said as he wiggled out of his grip. “Mom’s been waiting in the car for the past hour and if I don’t go down there soon she’s gonna come up here.”

 

“Not the best way to end a school year,” Buck laughed before he gave Malarkey one last slap on the back. “Drive safe.”

 

“You too, Buck.”

 

“Babe, if you don’t hurry your ass up with your goodbyes to the Doc and get your ass down in the taxi right now, Toye’s gonna knock your ass out and shove you in the trunk!” Bill shouted over his shoulder before he and Toye headed down the stairs with the last of their belongings in hand.

 

“Or we’ll just leave you here,” Spina suggested with a shrug before he disappeared down the stairwell after the duo.

 

“I’m coming!” Babe growled over his shoulder before he turned back to look at Gene, who was grinning softly at him with his arms wrapped loosely around Babe’s waist. “Sorry, assholes can’t even let me have a minute.”

 

“No need to apologize,” Gene shrugged before he leaned forward and kissed Babe. “You really should get going. I don’t want you to miss your flight.”

 

“I’m not gonna,” Babe insisted before he tugged Gene into a tight tug. “I’ll call you when I land,” Babe mumbled into Gene’s shoulder.

 

“Might be in the air still myself.”

 

“Well if you are I’ll just call later,” Babe said, arms still firmly wrapped around Gene’s neck.

 

“Babe.”

 

“I’m going, I’m going,” Babe sighed as he slowly unraveled his arms, feeling like he was being forced to rip a part of himself away from his body. “I’ll miss you.”

 

“I’ll miss you too,” Gene said before he smiled again and added, “I love you.”

 

Babe blinked while the words buffered in his head. Gene couldn’t help but let out a chuckled at his boyfriend’s frozen expression. Gene didn’t doubt for a second that Babe’s feelings were mutual so there was no sense of panic for Gene when Babe didn’t immediately respond.

 

“Okay, now you’re _really_ gonna get in trouble with Bill,” Gene sighed before he gave Babe a little shove. “Bad timing on my part I suppose.”

 

“Um, r-right,” Babe stuttered as he gave his head a quick shake. “Yeah. I’ll- I’ll call you later.”

 

“I’ll be waiting,” Gene said before Babe attempted to walk backwards and immediately backed into Perco, knocking a bunch of his things to the ground.

 

“Babe, what the fuck?” Frank bitched as he kneeled down to grab his things.

 

“Sorry, Perc, sorry- I gotta run,” Babe stumbled before he looked back at Gene quickly and found him trying to contain his laughter. “See you later, Perc.”

 

“Fucking…” Frank grumbled under his breath as he stalked back to his room.

 

Babe managed to reach the end of the hall and had his hand on the door handle when he realized with a jolt that he never said ‘I love you’ back. Feeling rushed and disorientated but also like he was on cloud nine, Babe turned around, found Gene’s face in the mess of people running in and out of the hall and yelled, “Oh! I love you too!”

 

Everyone in the busy hallway stopped moving almost immediately while they turned and stared at Babe.

 

“We love you too, Babe!” George yelled out from someone on the other side of the hall, breaking the awkward moment.

 

Babe knew his face probably roughly resembled a fucking tomato right about now but he still stayed for another moment so that he could look at Gene one last time. He wasn’t laughing like everyone else but smiling softly, lovingly. Babe only moved once Gene made a shooing motion, telling him once again to go. Nodding, Babe turned back around, pushed open the door, and disappeared down the stairwell.

 

“Well that was disgusting,” Shelton muttered quietly from behind Gene, having just had first row seats to that Babe Heffron nonsense.

 

“Oh hush up, Shelton,” Roe snapped. “Don’t act like you’re above us. I saw you and Sledge all curled up and cozy on the beach last night.”

 

Merriell didn’t even bother trying to respond he knew he was caught. Grumbling and looking slightly pink in the face, Shelton did an about face and stomped back to his room.

 

“Don’t spend too much time pouting, we got a plane to catch!”

 

The halls of Hanks House that morning were filled with similar scenes of last minute goodbyes, promises for summer plans, and shared excitement for the upcoming year. Outside the dorm it was a mess of cars and parents and possessions while residents tried their very best to Tetris all of their belongings into a car.

 

David was in the middle of watching Harry assist Kitty and her mother pack her belongings into her mother’s SUV from where he sat inside of Joe’s old car when the car shook slightly with the force of the driver’s door opening. Webster turned and watched as Joe’s lanky frame slid into the car and shut the door.

 

“Everything good?” David asked as Joe slipped on his pair of sunglasses; Joe had run inside one last time to double check everything while David waited out front with the car and all of their possession, which thankfully managed to all fit into Joe’s car.

 

“Yeah,” Joe answered as he started the engine before he turned and glanced at David. “Ready to go home?”

 

_Home._

 

David smiled softly at the word before he nodded, sad to be leaving Hanks House but happy to be headed back to San Francisco and Joe’s family. He was excited to head home.

 

“Yeah,” David answered as he clipped his seatbelt into place. “Let’s go home.”

 

 

 

_...4 Months Later..._

 

 

 

“How long have we been stuck here?” Alex asked in a monotone voice from where he laid in the backseat of Skip’s SUV as he began to consider taking his shirt off; fucking Skip’s ancient car had the most nonexistent AC which definitely did not help any when stuck in a traffic jam in the tail end of August.

 

“Fucking hours,” Skip responded, sounding equally tired and annoyed before he checked the time on the car stereo again. “At this rate we’re gonna miss fucking check in.”

 

“Even if you do, I’m sure you’ll end up just being fine,” Faye spoke up from where she sat in the passenger’s seat. “What are they gonna do? Not your fault there’s traffic.”

 

Skip let out a heavy sigh while he fought the urge to lay on the horn; he knew it wouldn’t do anything but damn would it make him feel just a tiny bit better. He was tired, exhausted really, but that was to be expected after spending the past week crossing the country with Alex and Faye as they slowly but steadily made their way from Tonawanda to Pacific Coast in their last hurrah of summer. Faye would spend the night in his and Alex’s new dorm room while she stayed for the next two days. Although nothing was official, Skip had heard through the grapevine that Ray Person had started cooking up plans for a return to campus party tomorrow evening. Even if the plans fell through, Skip was sure tonight or tomorrow evening there would be something entertaining to do with the guys and Faye.

 

Skip glanced at the time again. It was almost three in the afternoon and they were still an hour away from campus. Move in had technically started at eight in the morning, which meant that Skip and Penk had definitely already missed something epic within those first few hours back.

 

_I’m sure they’ll all be happy to fill us in when we get there,_ Skip thought while his mind wondered off as he tried to guess just what exactly might be happening back at Hanks House right this minute.

 

* * *

 

 

“Frank! Be careful with those headphones! They cost as much as your shoe collection alright? Be gentle,” Luz shouted over the roar that filled the fifth floor as he tried to maneuver through the many bodies and boxes that filled the cramped hallway.

 

Luz had been back in Hanks House approximately ten minutes and yet he had almost tripped over something five times, actually tripped over something twice, both times sending him to the ground, ran into three people, and had almost been knocked down a flight of stairs by Bull as he singlehandedly carried an armchair up the stairs. It was complete chaos, even though half the guys hadn’t even gotten a chance to move in yet. Although Luz had already had at least two near death experiences in the dorm today- there had been another near-death experience when he had been walking to the dorm and was almost taken out by a mother in a minivan –Luz couldn’t stop smiling. He was so happy to be back, so happy to be back with his family, even if he could already see that some of his closer members had shifted floors and rooms or weren’t even in the dorms anymore.

 

“Nice digs you got here,” Luz said as he causally leaned against the doorway of room 501 and watched as Lipton worked to put away the last of his belongings.

 

Lipton had gotten in yesterday morning but somehow he still managed to not get everything put away in the time. Luz watched as Lipton straightened up and turned around, smiling at Luz’s Cheshire cat grin.

 

“Nice to see you again, George,” Lipton greeted him.

 

“That’s all I get?” Luz asked, fake hurt in his voice. “‘Nice to see you again’? Come on man.”

 

“It’s _fantastic_ to see you again,” Lipton tried again.

 

“Ehh, still a little dry but I’ll take it,” George shrugged before he entered the room properly and pulled Lip into a bear hug. “Really good to see your mug again, buddy. You’re looking great.”

 

“Thanks, George,” Lipton huffed. “So are you.”

 

“Ya think?” Luz asked as he pulled away and ran a hand over the two day stubble that was growing in.

 

Out of all the people who called Hanks House home last school year, Lipton was one of the people who Luz kept in contact with the most. George had even tried to make plans to head down to West Virginia to check out the Lipton family bed and breakfast but between his siblings and a summer job working for his uncle’s roofing company, he never go the chance. There was always next year though.

 

“So I was noticing how close my room was to yours…” Luz said as he glanced over his shoulder so that he could make out the open doorway of his and Frank’s dorm room directly across the hallway. “You have any say in this matter, Lip?”

 

“Nope. All the university.”

 

“Maybe they hoped living close to the R.A. would deter a trouble maker like me from causing problems. Jokes on them,” Luz said as he shoved Lipton lightly, “Since me and the R.A. are tight.”

 

“You know I seem to remember you promising to go easy on me this year,” Lipton reminded him.

 

“Yeah, well, my easy is another person’s hard. Still gotta keep you on your toes.”

 

“Figured.”

 

“So, have you been over to see the house yet?” Luz asked with an exaggerated waggle of his eyebrows.

 

“Um, not yet,” Lipton answered. “I was actually gonna go run over this in a minute. Ron just texted me to let me know that they’re mostly moved in now.”

 

“Okay, just make sure you don’t get _distracted_ and miss the dorm meeting,” Luz said as he stepped backwards towards the door. “Wouldn’t look good. The new R.A. late for the meeting.”

 

“I got it, Luz, I’ll make sure to set an alarm or something.”

 

“Just looking out for you, bud.”

 

* * *

 

 

“So how was the flight?” Burgie asked as Shelton walked into their shared room and dropped his bags down on the ground roughly, looking disgruntled.

 

“Fuck you, Burgie,” Merriell grumbled in greeting.

 

The plane hadn’t been that bad. There wasn’t any turbulence but their flight got delayed almost a whole hour which meant that Merriell had to spend an extra hour waiting anxiously behind security, unable to sneak a smoke break anywhere. Really, would it kill them to put in a smoking zone somewhere in a fucking terminal?

 

“Which bed do you want?” Snafu asked gruffly.

 

“That one,” Burgie said firmly as he pointed to the bed furthest away from the door.

 

“Why that one?”

 

“Uh, listen, I’m not an idiot. I know this room was Eugene’s last year and I don’t know what the fuck you two got up to- _nor would I ever want to_ –but I get the feeling Sledge’s a decent enough guy that he wouldn’t try anything on his best friends bed,” Burgie explained seriously. “So I’m taking that bed.”

 

“Yeah, that bed’s safe,” Shelton said with an evil smirk. “But you know, there might be a couple surfaces in this room besides Eugene’s old bed that ain’t safe.”

 

Burgie stared at his smirking face for a long moment before he tossed a pillow at him roughly which Merriell just barely managed to duck away from.

 

“I fucking hate you,” Burgie grumbled before he picked up Shelton’s pillow and chucked it roughly at him again. “I don’t know if you’re fucking with me or if you’re serious, I don’t know if I want to know. All I know is that I hate you and that I’m asking around to see if anyone wants to fucking switch roommates with me.”

 

“Aww, come on now, Burgie, don’t be like that,” he laughed. “Housing scrubs everything down pretty good over the summer. Should be nice and clean now.”

 

“I need to buy some spray bleach,” Burgie sighed while Snafu continued to cackle. “It’s gonna be a _long_ year.”

 

“And it’s just beginning,” Merriell declared happily before his cell phone buzzed in his pocket with the arrival of a new text message; he felt his heart lift as Eugene’s name popped up on his cell phone screen.

 

**Just got off the plane. Should be there in an hour if traffic isn’t bad.**

 

Merriell didn’t bother to try and school his expression; he couldn’t help but smile at the message on the screen. He had been lucky enough to see Eugene twice this past summer. The first time had been the somewhat hellish week he spent at Eugene’s place where he spent most of his time getting interrogated and silently judged by mama Sledge. Thankfully he managed to scrape by her strict standards, probably because of something Eugene and possibly Eugene’s father said to her, allowing Eugene to get the green flag to drive two states over to visit him and Gene in Louisiana a month later. Eugene’s mother hadn’t originally been so keen on the idea of Eugene driving all that distance by himself but after Babe Heffron so graciously offered to fly down to Alabama to meet up with Eugene so that they could drive to Louisiana together, mama Sledge had loosened her hold on Eugene enough for him to spend a couple days with him. The visits were nice but after going from seeing each other every day to seeing each other only a handful of times over the course of an entire summer, Merriell couldn’t help but admit he was a little giddy to reunite with him.

 

**already here. better hurry up** , Merriell texted back.

 

“Disgusting,” Burgie declared as he stared at the look on his friend’s face.

 

“Fuck off, Burgie, I’ve had to experience you and Flo’s goo-goo eyes many a time,” Shelton retorted as he returned his phone to his jeans. “It’s payback.”

 

“So when’s Sledge getting here?”

 

“An hour or so. He just landed.”

 

“Good. Then in an hour I can ask him which surfaces are and aren’t safe. Sledge was raised right, he won’t lie to me.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Lew, wake up.”

 

“Five more minutes,” Lewis grumbled sleepily, voice muffled by the pillow he was lying face down on.

 

“Lew,” Dick’s gentle but firm voice repeated before Lewis felt Dick’s hand firmly pat his side. “You gotta get up.”

 

“…Go away,” he mumbled before he buried his face further into the pillow.

 

“We aren’t done unpacking yet,” Dick said, exasperated.

 

“Well I am.”

 

“Lew.”

 

Nixon was exhausted and justifiably so. The past three days had been spent on the road, driving from east coast to west with Dick and Harry and all their necessary belongings for the school year. The three of them had arrived at their new house just outside of campus early this morning and after several hours of unloading his car, moving around furniture, and unpacking Lewis managed just enough energy to locate his pillows and comforter and toss them on his and Dick’s bed before he collapsed on top of it.

 

“Why don’t you just come down here and join me?” Lewis tried as he cracked an eye open so that he was able to make out Dick’s face. “Know you’re dead tired too.”

 

“Later,” Dick said, causing Nixon to pout. “Now get up and help us put away a couple more boxes so that we can at least walk through the house.” When Nixon refused to move, Dick added as an afterthought, “If you’re not up in a minute I’m sicing Harry on you.”

 

“I thought you loved me,” Nixon whined.

 

“I do but I’d also love if I were able to walk through this house without tripping on boxes every two feet!”

 

Grumbling, Lewis pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around the cluttered room. Since he and Dick would be sharing, they got the biggest room in the house. Their room was big enough to fit a queen mattress, a desk, a set of dresser drawers, and a bookshelf and also contained a decent sized closet. Right now the room felt crowded and overstuffed but once everything managed to get into place, Lewis knew the room would be just perfect for him and Dick.

 

Knowing that if he didn’t move soon, Dick would send Harry- or worse, Ron –to drag him from the room, Lewis got up and moved as best as he could down the hallway. Their room was the only bedroom on the first floor; Harry and Ron’s rooms were both upstairs and were slightly smaller than theirs.

 

“So, what should I help with?” Lewis asked as he stopped at the end of the hall and stretched; he really did need a fucking nap.

 

“Are you blind?” Harry asked flatly from where he sat on the living room floor, surrounded by half opened, half unpacked boxes, looking exceptionally irritated. “Fucking grab a box and get to work.”

 

“No need to get pissy with me,” Nix muttered, unaffected.

 

“He’s just grumpy because he’s been back all day and hasn’t gotten a chance to see Kitty yet,” Ron responded as he walked out of the kitchen, breaking apart a folded up box as he went.

 

“Can you blame me?” Harry exclaimed. “It didn’t help that I had to cross the whole fucking country with those two for three days straight.”

 

“Well when you put it that way, I can see how Harry’s bad mood is justifiable,” Ron said.

 

“Okay, Harry, it’s not like you’re an innocent party here,” Nix countered. “You could barely go a couple hours without calling or facetiming Kitty. I don’t wanna hear it.”

 

“Only a few hours in and they’re already fighting,” Ron muttered to Dick as he walked back into the room. “This doesn’t exactly bode well.”

 

“They’re just cranky,” Dick said easily.

 

“Maybe you should have let Nix take a nap. Could have put Harry down for a nap too. Let the kids have a break, give us a chance to get some real work done.”

 

“You know we can hear you,” Harry said, looking at Ron.

 

“Yeah, and what are you gonna do about it?” Ron asked.

 

“I know what I’m gonna do,” Nix said. “I’m gonna fucking take Ron up on his offer and take a nap.”

 

_Knock, knock, knock!_

 

“Swear to God if that’s another mover with more shit I’m leaving,” Harry declared, unamused.

 

“Don’t worry, Harry,” Ron said with a smile as he weaved his way through the living room and headed towards the front door where the knock had originated. “It’s not another mover.”

 

“How do you know that?” Nix asked.

 

Without answering, Ron pulled open the front door.

 

“Hello, Carwood,” Ron greeted his boyfriend happily before he tipped his head down and kissed him.

 

“Salt in the wound,” Harry muttered to himself before he got back to work unloading the box in front of him.

 

“Aww, look who it is,” Lewis said with a smirk. “One of PCU’s newest R.A.’s.”

 

“How’s it going, Nix?” Lipton asked politely as he walked into the house.

 

“Would be a hell of a lot better if all of this stuff just magically got put away,” Nix shrugged as he looked around at the mess.

 

“You think this is bad you should see the dorm right now,” Lipton responded. “It’s a madhouse.”

 

“Speaking of the dorm, you sure you’re allowed to leave?” Nixon asked. “Don’t you have to stay and babysit and make sure someone doesn’t set something on fire or something?”

 

“I think they can manage without me there for an hour or two. As long as I’m back in time for the dorm meeting in a few hours, everything should be fine. Just wanted to stop by and see the house.”

 

“Uh, huh,” Nixon said sarcastically. “The house. You wanted to see the house.”

 

“And Ron, of course,” Lipton added as he smiled at Ron.

 

“Ah! Carwood!” Dick exclaimed as he walked into the living room. “Good to see you. How was your summer?”

 

“Good, quiet but good,” Lipton answered politely. “And yours?”

 

“No complaints,” Dick responded. “How’s the dorm shaping up so far? Any causalities yet?”

 

“None to report so far but only half of the guys have moved in so far.”

 

“So there’s still time,” Dick said, knowingly. “So how long are you here for?”

 

“Not long, I should really get back there in an hour,” Lip answered as he checked the time on his phone.

 

“Well, I’m sure Ron would be happy to give you a tour of the house.”

 

“Come on,” Ron said softly as he gently grabbed Lipton’s hand and began leading him through the house. “I’ll show you my room.”

 

“You know, it occurs to me that with Lip getting a single and him having to stay in the dorm most nights to keep the kiddies in line,” Harry started as the two men headed up the stairs to the second floor, “I get the feeling that Ron isn’t gonna be spending too many nights here.”

 

“Well then we can just slowly convert his room into something cool for us to use,” Lewis shrugged. “Like a liquor room.”

 

“A liquor _room?_ ” Dick asked.

 

“Yeah. You know how some people have a liquor cabinet? Well me and Harry here, we’re going to need a liquor room.”

 

“Like the way you think, Nix.”

 

* * *

 

 

“No fuckin’ way, Leckie, you can’t take up the entire shelf with your poetry books,” Hoosier bitched as he watched Leckie fill up three-quarters of the book shelf.

 

“What the hell are you gonna need the bookshelf for, Hoosier?” Leckie asked. “I mean, it’s still up for debate over whether or not you’re actually literate.”

 

“Oh fucking ha ha, Bob, that joke stopped be funny a year ago- actually, that joke was never funny,” Hoosier decided before he collapsed on top of his bed. “Leave the jokes to me.”

 

“Can’t be smart and funny I guess.”

 

“They may call you Lucky but you’ll never be as lucky as me,” Hoosier said.

 

“Why are you so lucky?”

 

“I’m funny _and_ pretty,” Hoosier said, deadpan. “You don’t fucking need to be smart if you got that combo down.”

 

“Well that is why I chose you as a roommate, Hoos, cus you’re easy on the eyes.”

 

“Once again, I like Vera too much to lie to her so if I wake up one morning and find you cuddling me cus you ‘got drunk’ and crawled into my bed, I’m going to have to tell her,” Hoosier said in the same flat tone. “Won’t have that on my conscious, Bob.”

 

“I’ll try my best to resist the urge,” Leckie retorted.

 

“Hey, Leckie,” said a familiar voice from behind Leckie.

 

Bob turned around and found Webster peering into his room with an overstuffed duffle thrown over his shoulder.

 

“Hey, Web!” Leckie exclaimed. “Are you up on this floor too?”

 

“Yeah but I’m on the other side of the hall again,” Webster answered.

 

“Yo, Web, we ain’t got time for chit chat,” Liebgott’s voice sounded from outside the room. A moment later, Joe’s face appeared behind Webster. Bob could see that he too was laden down with a bunch of belongings. “Oh, hey guys.”

 

“Hey, Joe.”

 

“We can all chat and catch up later,” Joe complained as he shifted his grip on the heavy box in his arms. “Right now we gotta unload my car before that soccer mom with the minivan gets pissy at me for parking out front too long and rear ends me or something.”

 

“Right, um, I’ll catch up with you later, Bob,” Web said before he did as Joe asked and continued down the busy hallway.

 

Even though there were a handful of new faces on the fifth floor, the noise and commotion was the same as usual; it made David smile it was so familiar. It wasn’t like David had exactly the most peaceful of summers- every day at the Liebgott household was a loud one –but there were some sounds that were so specifically Hanks House. Like the sound of George Luz’s laugh mixed in with three or four different types of music or the victorious shouts of someone winning a round of air hockey as they cut through four floors of violent video games. It was loud and messy and crowded and already smelled vaguely of gym socks, pizza rolls, and cigarette smoke and was the complete opposite of what Webster grew up with but it was home. One of his homes at least.

 

“You know, with me being down on the third floor, it’s gonna be the farthest we’ve ever been apart from each other,” Joe teased as they entered David’s bare dorm room and dropped the heavy box on the floor. “Think you can handle a whole two floors of separation.”

 

“I think maybe some long distance would do us some good,” Webster joked. Frankly David was surprised that there hadn’t been any major blow ups between them over the summer with them just down the hall from each other. “You’re always welcome to visit.”

 

“I fuckin’ better be,” Joe declared. “I gotta let the new freshman on the floor know that you’re off limits.”

 

“Just don’t let them know in any grossly inappropriate ways,” David sighed as he unzipped his duffle bag and began unpacking his clothes.

 

“So does that mean I can do it in a semi-inappropriate way?” he asked with a smirk.

 

“Depends on what that means,” David said as he straightened up and looked wearily at his boyfriend.

 

Without another word, Joe reached out, tightly gripped the front of David’s t-shirt and pulled him towards Joe, crashing their mouths together in a slightly ungraceful manner. Webster flushed when he heard someone in the hallway wolf-whistle at them but he didn’t pay them any attention.

 

“Aw, shit they’re still together?” Webster heard Johnny Martin ask, sounding disgruntled. “Fucking owe Luz ten bucks.”

 

“That’s what you get for being an asshole, Martin!” Joe yelled as he moved away David, causing him to smile.

 

* * *

  

“What room are we in again?” Eugene asked as he opened up the door leading to the fifth floor, panting slightly from choosing to carry his things up the stairs instead of waiting an hour for the ancient elevator.

 

“511,” Sidney answered from behind him as they stepped out onto the fifth floor. “Damn this place is a madhouse.”

 

“Same shit as usual.”

 

As Eugene fought his way down the crowded hallway, he was assaulted with a number of familiar faces and voices but as he passed by one of the open doors, an extremely familiar and recognizable voice rose above the others.

 

“We agreed on the coin flip, Spina. You lost, I won, I get this bed. Deal with it.”

 

“Don’t see why I can’t have that bed what with Doc getting a single.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“It means that second semester last year I basically had a room to myself because you and Doc crammed into your bed every night. So I doubt this bed is gonna get much use outa you.”

 

“Babe!” Eugene exclaimed as he peered into the room and found Babe and Spina standing inside the room.

 

“Eugene!” Babe cried before he moved around the mess on the floor to hug his friend. “How ya been man?”

 

“Pretty good. Made it here in one piece without the airlines losing any of stuff.”

 

“Good to hear,” Babe grinned. “What room are you in?”

 

“511.”

 

“Kinda surprised they let these many people from last year back in the same hall after all that shit from last year.”

 

“Most likely a clerical error,” Eugene shrugged. “But we gotta go set down our things. We’ll catch up later though.”

 

“Hell yeah we will. Oh! And maybe you should stop and check out who got your old room,” Babe added with a smirk on his face.

 

“Should I be worried?”

 

Babe only shrugged in response. Eugene glanced at Spina, who stayed silent, before he looked back at Sidney and shrugged. Tightening the grip on his overstuffed bag, Eugene stepped out of the room and continued down the hall. Doing as Babe requested, Eugene stopped in front of his old room and looked inside. Eugene felt his bag slip momentarily through his fingers when he saw who was in his old room.

 

“Mer,” Eugene called out, feeling suddenly giddy.

 

Eugene watched as Merriell turned and looked at him; he felt his heart skip a beat when he saw Merriell’s smile.

 

“I'm just gonna… head down to the room then,” Sidney muttered quietly behind him before he slinked down the hall.

 

Eugene let his bag drop in the doorway with a soft thud before he rushed into the room towards Merriell. Sure, the two of them talked everyday over the summer and Eugene had seen him last month but phone calls and text messages only did so much and really, six weeks was too long to go without being able to physically touch Merriell.

 

“You survived your flight,” Eugene joked after he moved away from Merriell.

 

“Make fun of me all you want but flying’s fucking awful, Eugene,” Merriell grumbled with his face pressed into the crook of Eugene’s neck. “Don’t even pretend like you like flying.”

 

“Well now at least you won’t have to get on a plane for a couple months,” he pointed out as he ran his fingers through his thick curly hair.

 

“That supposed to be a positive, Sledgehammer? Reminding of me when the next time I gotta get on a plane?”

 

“How about a better positive?” Eugene asked as he gently nudged Merriell’s face away from his neck so that he could look at him. “For the next couple months, you and I are gonna be right down the hall from each other.”

 

“Ehh, I _guess_ that’s a pretty good point,” Merriell sighed.

 

“You’re an ass,” Eugene declared fondly as he tilted his head so that he could gently rest his forehead against Shelton’s.

 

“Yeah but you still love me,” he said proudly.

 

“Ehh, I _guess_ ,” Eugene teased. “Everyone’s gotta have a character flaw.”

 

“Gotta say, Eugene, but yours is a pretty big character flaw,” Merriell said seriously, causing Eugene’s face to soften.

 

“No it’s not,” Eugene said gently before he leaned forward and softly pressed his lips to Merriell’s.

 

“Sledge! Just the man I was waiting for,” Burgie declared as he stepped into the doorway.

 

“You know, Burgie, I’m flattered really but I _am_ kind of taken,” Eugene said seriously.

 

“Sorry to interrupt but I just have a couple of quick questions for you. Shouldn’t- _hopefully_ it shouldn’t take much of your time.”

 

“What’s up?” Eugene asked, curious.

 

“Oh, lord,” Merriell muttered as he rested his head on Eugene’s shoulder. “Here we fucking go.”

 

* * *

 

 

After another half an hour of sitting in traffic and another forty minutes spent speeding past a huge accident, Skip, Penk, and Faye managed to arrive at PCU and Hanks House just under the wire. As the trio walked to the room on the fifth floor, Skip was happy to see plenty of familiar faces but also couldn’t help but notice the surprising number of new faces that surrounded him and Alex’s room.

 

“We are _surrounded_ by freshmen,” Alex state flatly as he walked back into their room with the last of their belongings from Skip’s car.

 

“You say that like you weren’t _just_ freshmen yourself,” Faye said from where she sat on Skip’s unmade bed. “Are you really any that better as sophomores?”

 

“I’d like to think that I matured a lot over the past year.”

 

“Yeah well, hate to break it to you but just because you _think_ you have, it doesn’t mean you actually _have_ ,” Faye continued.

 

“She’s got you there, Penk,” Skip laughed. “Besides, we were dumb freshman last year and guys like Harry and Nix and them got along with us just fine. Wouldn’t hurt to say hi.”

 

Without another word Skip got up and headed out into the hallway. In the room directly across from them Skip noticed a young looking guy he had never seen before. Even if the guy wasn’t new to Pacific Coast like Alex said, he was at the very least new to him so he at least deserved an introduction.

 

“Hey,” Skip said as he knocked cautiously on the open door.

 

“Oh, hey, what’s up?” the guy asked as he turned around; the kid was a little shorter than Skip with dark hair shaved down into a buzz cut.

 

“Just introducing myself. I live across the hall,” Skip explained. “Name’s Skip.”

_“Skip?_ ”

 

“Nickname,” Skip shrugged.

 

“Yeah, I’ve noticed there’s a thing with nicknames here,” the guy said slowly.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Well my roommate told me to just call him ‘Q-Tip’. If you ask me, I think Skip’s better.”

 

“Thanks, I think so too.”

 

“Oh, sorry, I forgot,” the kid stuttered. “Name’s John. John Christeson. Usually just go by my last name though.”

 

“You’ll fit right in then. A lot of guys end up going by their last names here.”

 

“You seem pretty certain of that,” Christeson said.

 

“Yeah well, a lot of the guys on this floor actually lived here last year so most of us know each other,” he explained.

 

“Oh. So I guess you guys are all pretty tight then,” he said, frowning slightly.

 

“Don’t worry man it’s not like we’re cliquey. I’m sure everyone will be happy to break in a couple new students.”

 

“I don’t know how I like the sound of that,” Christeson admitted. “But is everyone on this floor a sophomore? I mean, I know there are a couple freshmen- I got a friend from back home whose down at the end of the hall and my roommate said he’s a first year –but I kinda thought mostly freshman lived in the dorms.”

 

“We got some good memories attached to this place so a bunch of us decided to stay put for a little longer,” Skip exclaimed. “But what room is your friend in?”

 

“He’s in 512,” Christeson answered. “Goes by his last name only too: Hamm.”

 

“512…I’m pretty sure Sledge and Sid are right next to him,” Skip said; he had run through the hall earlier and got a quick glance of who was where but he couldn’t be sure. “They’re good guys. They’ll keep an eye on your friend. But don’t worry. Some of the guys may seem kinda crazy but they’re all harmless and friendly as hell.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yup. Best guys on the planet.”

 

* * *

 

 

Just as the sun was beginning to set on Pacific Coast’s campus, all of the residents of Hanks House headed down to the common room for their dorm meeting. Unlike last year where there was only the occasional bit of small talk in the common room while everyone waited for the meeting to start this year the common room was almost unbearably loud as all of the residents crammed into the small area and happily caught up with one another.

 

“Can you guys fucking believe it?” Ray shouted over the noise as he collapsed onto the small space on the couch between Walt and Skinny, practically sitting on their laps in the process. “Brad fucking abandoned me! For fucking _Tony Espera_! Can you believe it?”

 

“Yes,” Skinny answered immediately.

 

“Without a doubt,” George said from his space on the floor in front of them.

 

“I’m surprised he’s put up with you that long, Person,” Babe called out from the armchair he and Gene crammed into.

 

“It’s the mystery of Hanks House how the fuck those two are fucking friends at all,” Malarkey commented.

 

“At least I have Walt,” Ray sighed, dejectedly. He turned to his friend and gripped his face tightly between his two thin hands. “Promise me you’ll never leave me.”

 

“Man, I’m about to leave you this second if you don’t back up,” Walt responded, voice slightly muffled by the way that Ray squished his face. “You need a fuckin’ mint.”

 

“Yeah, Ray, I know it hurts that Brad left you for another man but you gotta look at the bright side,” Luz started, “we are gonna get away with _so much_ shit now that your BFF is off campus now and isn’t skulking the halls every five fucking minutes.”

 

“Yeah well, Brad’s friend is the new R.A. that’s replacing him and he told me this guy isn’t exactly a pushover either,” Ray informed them. “And I’m sure traitor Brad’s given this guy the whole low-down on all of us so I doubt we’re gonna get away with much more shit than last year.”

 

“Worth a shot though.”

 

* * *

  

“I think that’s everybody,” Shawn Patrick, Colbert’s replacement, said in his southern twang as he walked towards the space off to the side where Lena, Andy, and Lipton stood.

 

Patrick was a junior with brown hair and a thick mustache that made him look a hell of a lot older than the twenty years old he actually was, which probably had something to do with why his nickname around campus was ‘Pappy’. Carwood hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to him that much since he first met the guy yesterday morning but Andy informed him that Patrick was good friends with Colbert , Eddie, and Rudy Reyes which meant that he had to be at least a decent guy.

 

“You ready to go?” Andy asked Carwood.

 

“Yeah, I am,” Lipton said confidently.

 

“Nothing to worry about,” Lena said as they all started to head out to the main area. “Most of the people out there already love _and_ respect you.”

 

Carwood appreciated the words of confidence but he wasn’t worried. Not anymore. Once he and the other R.A.’s stepped in front of the crowd, Lipton had to fight to keep his expression neutral, mostly because a number of the guys who had called the fifth floor home last year were currently whistling and cat-calling him.

 

“Alright, alright everyone, settle down,” Andy ordered firmly.

 

As the noise slowly died down, Carwood looked out into the crowd, searched everyone’s faces, faces he had never seen before and ones that he had seen a million times. None of them had any idea of what would come their way this year- Carwood thought of everything that had happened over the course of the past year and knew that none of them could have guess half of the things that happened to them –but all of them were eager for a new start, whether it was just the start of a new school year or the start of a totally new chapter of their lives.

 

“Hello everyone,” Andy spoke up once everyone had quieted down, “for all the new students, I’d like to say welcome to Pacific Coast University and welcome to Hanks House.”

 

There was a round of polite clapping, which was peppered with short cheers of excitement. Once everyone settled down again, Andy continued.

 

“And to all of those who are returning to Hanks House, I’d like to say welcome back.”

 

It was as if a firework suddenly exploded in the common room, everyone’s reaction was so loud. Unable to stop himself, Carwood laughed as he watched a number of Hanks House veterans jump up and begin to hoot and howl. Lipton turned to look at Andy, wondering if maybe they should try to control the commotion before it got too out of hand. Andy only smiled before he leaned in close to Lipton so that he could be heard over all the noise and said, “This sure is going to be an interesting year.”


End file.
